Tainted: Twilight
by Broken325
Summary: When Edward's obsession leads him to the corner of Bella's bedroom at night, his struggle to control the monster inside him takes a new and unexpected turn. Is there only one way to become a vampire? Slightly AU
1. Prologue, Friends

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I only own the parts of this story not taken from her works.**

_After the incident with Tyler's van, Edward thought he could stay away from Bella Swan while still sitting next to her every day in Biology. When his obsession leads him to the corner of her bedroom at night, his struggle to control the monster inside of him takes a new and unexpected turn._

**Author's note: **We're starting the day after Bella gets asked to the dance by Mike, Eric and Tyler... the day after Edward starts talking to Bella again. If you haven't read the partial draft of Midnight Sun, I recommend reading chapter 5 of that at some point, but you won't need it to follow along. Enjoy and** please leave me some feedback when you finish! **

**Also** - I have been told that this story gets off to a slow start but picks up somewhat significantly after the second chapter. So try to make it there before you give up on me :)**  
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**Tainted **v. _tr._

1. To affect with or as if with a disease.  
2. To affect with decay or putrefaction; spoil.  
3. To corrupt morally.  
4. To affect with a tinge of something reprehensible...

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_Prologue_

Bella was dreaming. She was in a clearing somewhere surrounded by woods on all sides. The trees were grown so thickly together that they looked black. There was no moon but she could see sharply, clearly how the blackness surrounding her contrasted from the pale white of her skin. She was standing in the middle of the clearing.

_Bella..._

Someone whispered behind her. She turned to see Edward Cullen walking or floating towards her, she couldn't tell which. In the distance she could see his family standing in a group behind him. They didn't move, an assembly of perfection watching them, watching her. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett were there with Dr. Cullen and another woman, presumably his wife. Edward held out his hand.

_Bella, we have to go, don't be scared. We're going to take care of you now._

She wanted to tell him she was fine and that he needed to stop worrying about her health constantly but she couldn't speak. She moved towards him, reaching out to grab his offered hand. When she touched his skin her spine tingled. Even in this dream she could feel their chemistry electrify her. He looked into her eyes again and smiled as he closed his hand around hers. Her spine tingled again.

_Don't worry, Bella, I won't let anything happen to you._

Hand in hand she began to walk with Edward towards his family. They remained immobile but she could feel their anxiety and she approached. Once they had covered about half the distance between them Edward stopped. Bella looked up at him, confused. He reached up and gently held her face in his hands as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. She closed her eyes allowing herself to drown in the sensation it caused as his lips moved down her neck to her shoulder.

_I'll be waiting for you on the other side, I promise._

She opened her eyes to look up at him but he was already gone. She barely caught a glimpse of him standing now perfectly still with his family across the clearing before she realized that she was surrounded completely by a wall red, hot fire.

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_Friends_

The morning began as normally as most others. The alarm clock rang. The snooze button was hit, twice and then she started to get ready. She stretched. Her shoulder was hurting and she had a pretty good idea why. She hadn't slept very well at all the night before. She went to the closet, pulled a pair of jeans out of the laundry pile, and added a grey cotton t-shirt and a windbreaker and prepared for the promise of another boring day at Forks High School.

She did not put on makeup this morning, like every morning, but she did stop in front of the mirror to pull her warm brown hair up into a simple pony tail. Satisfied with what she saw, Bella went downstairs, grabbed her books, a pop tart for the road and her keys. Walking out to her car she was surprised by how warm it felt to her. Well, warm wasn't the best word, it was more like un-cold. She shuttered at the thought that she was getting used to the extreme temperatures in southern Washington as she started the ancient truck that her father had given her upon her arrival a few weeks back. It seemed brighter today, maybe there was a chance of some sun later on. The thought made her hopeful. She needed some extra hope today.

On the way to school she thought back on everything that had happened since she made the decision to move in with her estranged father. It certainly was not that all of her days at Forks High had been boring. She had her fair share of drama in the short time she had been there. She was treated like a celebrity at first, which really isn't that surprising given the fact that her father was the police chief for the tiny town and her decision to move in with him had remained a mystery. New people always cause a stir in small towns; she should have been expecting it. Still, that didn't keep it from being annoying. All she wanted was to sit quietly in a corner unnoticed for the next year and a half until she could graduate and go to college, preferably somewhere on the east coast away from both her parents. It's not that she didn't like the new friends she had made, she just wished they weren't so high profile in the microscopic social circles of teenage Forks.

And then there was the other incident, the one where she had almost died. It was the morning of the first snowfall of the season and the parking lot was a wreck. Students and teachers alike were sliding all over the place and her friend Tyler was no different. But whereas everyone else had slowed down coming down the driveway that morning, Tyler had not. The consequence was his not being able to even slide to a stop. He had almost hit her, almost killed her, _would_ definitely have killed her... if it hadn't been for that boy.

Bella cursed herself for thinking of him again. She kept telling herself that his several weeks of silence meant he was not interested in speaking to her ever again. She needed to get over this obsession but she just couldn't, not when he was there every single day sitting next to her in biology. She often found herself thinking about him and trying to resist the urge to stare at him. In the cafeteria she usually allowed herself to glance his way, because he and his siblings never looked hers, but she did not dare to speak or look at him in class. He had made that perfectly clear.

For the millionth time, she played over the events of that fateful morning in her head. She got out of her truck and had just noticed that Charlie must have put snow chains on before he left in the morning. The thought had touched her heart. She looked up to see Edward Cullen standing next to his silver Volvo across the parking lot before her attention was diverted to the van that was sliding towards her at alarming speed. What happened next was still blurry, but when everything stopped she was being cradled by Edward with barely a scratch on her.

She still got angry think of how he had treated her that day. He insisted on denying that he had been on the other side of the parking lot where she clearly remembered seeing him. He insisted on making a big deal of sending her to the hospital when she knew she was fine. He insisted on belittling her intelligence by trying to insist that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Then, after all this, when she returned to school and sat next to him in 6th period biology, he had completely ignored her. Before that they had been on speaking terms but since that morning they had not said one word to each other.

That's why she needed to get him out of her head, because she obviously wasn't in his. At least, that's what she had thought until yesterday.

Yesterday was quite possibly one of the worst days of her life thus far. It started that morning, when Jessica was inexplicably cold to her. She suspected it had something to do with Mike. Jessica was supposed to ask Mike to the girl's choice dance today and, judging from her mood, she had done so to little success. Lunch was awkward, but given what happened next the morning was definitely the highlight of the day.

It started with Mike telling her that he hadn't accepted Jessica's offer because he was hoping that she would want to go with him instead. Bella thought that she would never understand this kid's obsession with her since she made constant efforts to discourage him. After telling that she couldn't because of a pre-planned trip to Seattle, she was able to convince him to accept Jessica's offer thus helping her friend and engaging Mike's attentions elsewhere for awhile. He went away and she thought that was it, until she looked to her right and saw Edward Cullen, the boy who saved her life then ignored her for nearly a month, staring at her.

Biology was awful. She spent the entire class trying to figure out why he had suddenly decided to pay attention to her until it got even worse. On her way out the door, he stopped to talk to her. She remembered her angry response. _What are you speaking to me again?_ He then told her that he was not speaking to her again, that it was better that way and then she had accused him of regretting his decision to save her life. She regretted those words, they had obviously hurt him, but that didn't clear up her confusion as to why he was acting that way.

As if that wasn't enough, Eric stopped her on her way out the door and he too asked her to the dance. Giving him the same response as Mike, she declined and Bella had escaped to her truck hoping to be home as soon as possible. But then something even stranger happened. Edward, of all people, had blocked traffic in the parking lot which gave Tyler, still upset about almost killing her with his car, the opportunity to approach her and ask her to the dance himself. Getting angrier by the second, she told him the same thing she told his friends and started revving her truck to try and get traffic moving. She caught Edward looking at her in his rear view mirror and she would have sworn he was laughing at her.

What did he mean by all this? She rarely slept soundly but last night she was in rare form as she tossed and turned trying to figure out what he was up to and why he acted so strangely. She didn't like being this obsessed with one person who paid little or no attention to her, but then again, she had never met someone whose actions remained a complete mystery like his did.

As she pulled into the parking lot she tried to not look for his car. Like every morning, her eye wandered and she saw it. His sister was standing there, the one with the short, choppy hair, but he was nowhere to be seen. Bella couldn't tell what the strange little girl was looking at. It was in her general direction but she wasn't looking at her. Strange family, she thought. As Bella made her way to the building, the sister, Alice, she remembered, walked inside as well.

Once inside, Bella couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed by the little pixie Cullen. She never remembered running into her much before this, but she saw her everywhere in the hall today. After first period, in front of her going down the hall, waiting in line at the bathroom... At lunch, she was right behind her in line. They never made conversation, or even eye contact but Bella had the distinct feeling that Alice was just as aware of her presence as she was of Alice's.

When she sat down at her table, the mood was happy. The girls were excited about the dance and Mike and Tyler had moved on to being excited about the dates they did have rather than depressed about the one they didn't. That was a very good thing, Bella thought. The entire school must have been excited because the noise in the cafeteria was louder than usual. The buzz was useful, though. Nobody noticed that she was spending most of lunch caught up in her own thoughts.

Alice confused her. Bella thought herself to be pretty perceptive and, given the Cullen's history of strange behavior, she didn't think it was just a coincidence. She allowed herself a glance at the table where Alice and Edward sat with the rest of their family. Everything seemed normal. Then again, it usually did with this family. Everyone else thought them a little aloof, but nobody thought anything out of the ordinary was going on. It seemed that only Bella spent hours and hours obsessing over what their thoughts and actions meant.

Today was no different. She had tried to pay attention in class, but she was also replaying her conversation with Edward over and over in her mind, trying to figure out what it meant. At lunch, she tried to figure out exactly what it could possibly have to do with his sister's following her around all day. Try as she could, nothing came up and Bella was left to determine that it was her obsession with the brother that made her pay more attention to the sister. That had to be the only reason.

Angela came up to her as they walked to return their lunch trays.

"Is everything alright Bella?"

"Yeah, I guess." She really couldn't bring herself to say more.

"Okay, you just seemed kind of distant today, that's all. Are you sad because you can't go to the dance on Saturday? Maybe you can reschedule your trip and go with the group of us."

"Angela," Bella smiled, "I am definitely not upset about not going to the dance."

Angela seemed to understand this perfectly and smiled back. "Well have a good rest of the day. I'll see you later!"

"See ya."

If Bella seemed distant it was because of what she faced next. Biology. That meant sitting next to Edward Cullen for an entire class period. She could only guess which of his bi-polar personalities she would be greeted with today.

Usually she walked to this class with Mike, but he had decided to walk Jessica to her next class before running back to Biology. Bella had never been happier to be rid of him. She reached the door and took a deep breath as she walked in. He was already there, of course, sitting at their table. She was determined not to look at or speak to him unless he did it first.

As she approached the table he turned towards her, almost as if he had been waiting for her. The look in his eyes was something she could not comprehend. He was anxious, that was certain, but there was something else, almost anger but not quite. She was shocked, even more by what happened next.

"Hello Bella, how are you feeling today?" She could see the nervousness in his amber eyes and hear it in his words. This was a personality she had not met yet.

"Be careful Edward, that sounds like a question a friend would ask. I've been told that it's better we're not friends." She really was tired of being jerked around.

He seemed to be struggling to decide what to say next. "Bella," he breathed in a cringed, "I would like to apologize to you for being so rude lately. It was inexcusable and... and I have decided that ... Bella I would very much like to be your friend and as such I would like to know how you are feeling today."

He seemed very determined and she couldn't make him out at all. "Is this some kind of joke?" She was whispering now, trying to keep quiet and keep from attracting attention with her anger. "Let's review our history together. You save my life by popping out of thin air, promise me an explanation, refuse to explain, ignore me for a month and the try to talk to me only to tell me that you're not talking to me because it's better if we're not friends. Now you tell me you have changed you mind and you want to be friends and you expect me to just up and have a friendly chat about how I have an ache in my shoulder because I didn't sleep well last night but other than that everything is fine and dandy? Come on, Edward, what the hell is going on?"

He looked even more disturbed after she finished her rant. For awhile he didn't know what to say. Then he looked at her again. "Bella, I have never been very good at making friends, my brothers and sisters keep me busy enough, which is why I have never really gone to the bother of trying to meet people outside of my family. I apologize if I am not doing a very good job at it, but I like talking to you and I am truly concerned with how you are feeling."

She was floored. He seemed entirely sincere, even if his fixation on how she was feeling today was a little weird. She tried to remind herself that being in an adopted family was probably rough and that he probably was just a little socially awkward. The thought softened her.

"I'm fine," she said, "other than that ache in my shoulder."

"Is it a muscle ache or a burning ache?"

"Um," she was confused, "a regular 'I slept funny and now my shoulder aches' ache I guess."

He seemed relieved by this, a strange reaction. "And you said that was because you didn't sleep well?"

"Yes." This conversation was going to be more work than she had anticipated. "Why do you ask?"

"You just seem..." He was searching for words. "tired, I guess. Are you jittery or hypersensitive?"

The questions got stranger and stranger. "Not really, not more than usual I suppose."

"I was just wondering. I get that way when I'm tired." He trailed off.

Saved by Mr. Banner. The Biology lecture began and ended their conversation. Bella was left to her own thoughts again, trying to decipher his meaning in asking such unusual questions. Why on earth had he been so concerned about her shoulder, about her health in general? He seemed to be anticipating that there was something wrong with her, like he expected it but her answers had thrown him a little bit. She made a mental note to check herself in a mirror. Angela had thought something was wrong too, she must look a wreck today.

Yet still, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something out of the ordinary going on with the sometimes silent, sometimes stunning boy sitting next to her. He kept looking her way, as if he were monitoring her 'tiredness' all throughout the class. She almost loathed the end of the period for fear that he might want to strike up their conversation again.

That fear was unfounded. When the bell rang, Edward simply turned to her, said he hoped she felt better and walked out of the room. Baffled, she followed shortly after him. On her way to her next class, she saw him standing with his sister Alice near the doors to the Gym, where Bella was headed for class. They both looked her direction for a second and then continued their conversation walking down the hall.

Something was definitely up and Bella was determined to figure it out. As she walked into the Gym thoughts of the Cullens were swirling around in her head.


	2. Midnight Visit

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I only own the parts of this story not taken from her works (published or unpublished).**

**Author's note:** Again, if you haven't read the partial draft of Midnight Sun, I recommend reading chapter 5 of that at some point, but you won't need it to follow along. That's where the italicized sections for this chapter come from. Enjoy and** please leave me some feedback when you finish!**

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_It was past midnight, and Bella's house was dark and quiet. Her truck was parked against the curb, her father's police cruiser in the driveway. There were no conscious thoughts anywhere in the neighborhood. I watched the house for a moment from the blackness of the forest that bordered it on the east. The front door would probably be locked - not a problem, except that I didn't want to leave a broken door as evidence behind me. I decided to try the upstairs window first. Not many people would bother installing a lock there._

_I crossed the open yard and scaled the face of the house in half a second. Dangling from the eave above the window with one hand, I looked through the glass and my breath stopped._

_It was her room. I could see her in the one small bed, her covers on the floor and her sheets twisted around her legs. As I watched, she twitched restlessly and threw one arm over her head. She did not sleep soundly, at least not this night. Did she sense the danger near?_

_I was repulsed by myself as I watched her toss again. How was I better than some sick peeping tom? I _wasn't _any better. I was much, much worse._

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_Midnight Visit_

Edward was trying to figure out what had brought him where he was at that exact moment: sitting on a chair in the corner of a bedroom staring intently at a very asleep Isabella Swan.

Never before in his near 100 years as an immortal had he done something like this. Then again, never before had he met someone like Bella. He loved and was fiercely protective of his family, but there had never been anyone outside of that circle that had caught his interest before her. He found himself drawn to her in ways he did not understand.

Bella had become an obsession for him. The strong scent of her blood made his throat burn with an almost unbearable pain when he breathed her in, but that was not her most intriguing quality. Edward had never before met someone whose mind he could not hear inside. Her father, Charlie, was a muffled voice, again a new development, but the girl had always been silent to him completely.

He had been telling himself that this was the source of his fascination with her. That very day, however, he stopped lying to himself. He was in love with her. Alice had predicted this, but he had been adamantly trying to deny it and keep it from happening since the morning of the accident. He saved her life twice that day, though she was only aware of one instance. In addition to keeping Tyler's van from crushing her to death, he also spent the afternoon convincing some members of his family, specifically Rose and Jasper, that killing her to keep her silent about what she saw was not an option.

That was when Alice announced that he would fall in love with her, and that she herself would have Bella as a best friend one day. Alice saw two very clear and distinct future for Bella, both involving him. In one, his thirst overpowered him and he took her life. In the other, his selfish desire to keep her around overpowered him and she became like him, a vampire.

From that time, he was determined to stay as far away from her as he could without abandoning his family. He thought that he could construct a third future, one where she lived out a normal happy, human life. This would only happen if he stayed away from her. He had been doing a marvelous job, even Alice was upset with him for confusing the future when she had before seen his course of action so easily. Keeping his distance was extremely difficult but it was working.

Until today...

Initially he wanted to blame Mike Newton for driving him to become the creepy peeping tom he now saw himself as. It was Mike's obsession with Bella that started things today. Mike decided to ask her to the dance that was coming up. It was a girl's choice dance, but he really wanted her to ask him and, after he received the offer from her friend Jessica that morning, he wanted to make sure that Bella wasn't waiting to ask him before he accepted it. Her rejection of him made his heart feel something it was not used to in recent weeks.

Joy, perhaps, or at least some form of happiness.

He had been wondering how strong her feelings for him were, since Edward, thanks to his special gifts, was more than well aware of what Mike felt for her. It was the happy feeling that led him to break his much practiced rule about not looking at her in class. He was trying to read more of her reaction when she turned and caught him. They gazed at each other before the Mr. Banner, the Biology teacher, asked him a question and broke their attention.

The look in her eyes made him feel horrible. She had been so trusting of him, had kept his secret when no one in his family expected her to, and he had returned the favor by completely ignoring her. He was ashamed of himself for being able to treat someone so wholly and thoroughly good so abominably. He knew in that instant that he could no longer keep on ignoring her. The impulse to be near her was too strong to deny anymore. Time had not made his task easier, it made it worse. Alice was right, as always. He couldn't ignore her anymore.

They would not be strangers anymore. At the end of the period, he turned to try and speak to her again, only to be met with coldness and sarcasm, both of which he knew he deserved. But he was determined to keep speaking to her, especially after she unjustly accused him of regretting saving her life that day. She thought him a heartless monster, but her characterization was far from the actual version of the monster. That monster he hoped she would never meet. He thought that, with apologies for his rude behavior, and small but continued attentions, maybe she would come around. He knew he shouldn't try, but he also knew he wasn't strong enough not to. Not anymore.

Once he came to terms with his decision, the rest of the afternoon had its fair share of amusements. Two more of Forks' undeserving peons had tried their hand at getting the lovely Ms. Swan to ask them to the dance, one with his particular assistance. Both were rejected. This pleased Edward immensely.

After school he had lately taken to running to Seattle or Portland to try and clear his mind and keep away from the meddlesome thoughts of his family. This day, he didn't run. He went hunting. He decided that if he was going to start talking to the girl again, he needed to be well fed. Unfortunately, it was a bad time of year and he had only slight success; two elk. It was satisfying, but not what he had hoped for.

Around midnight, he began his run back to Forks and before he had actually realized where he was going, he found himself looking at her house. He just wanted to see her face, to make sure she was okay. That was why he climbed to the window. It wasn't until she started speaking in her sleep that he was driven to open the window and go inside.

So, as much as he wanted to blame Newton and Alice and even Bella herself for maddening his curiosity with her unconscious sleep talking, he knew that his presence in that room was his fault and his alone. He had not been strong enough to stay away. The monster inside had won this battle, and Edward could only hope that it would be his last victory.

He was repulsed by his stalkeresque presence in her room that night, but there was also something comforting about just being there in her presence. He looked at her as the moonlight lit her face and was taken aback by how it enhanced her beauty. Her skin was usually pale, though not as pale as his, and that quality was amplified in the soft white light coming in through the window. As he stared at her she did something that would have made his heart stop.

"Edward..."

She said his name.

He quickly assured himself that she had not woken up and caught him, so that meant she must be dreaming. It was equally horrifying and thrilling to think that she was thinking about him as she dreamed. He had been trying to talk himself into leaving again when it happened.

"Stay, don't go. Please... don't go."

Hardly conscious of what he was doing, he began to move towards her sleeping form. He needed to touch her...

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_She was dreaming of me and it wasn't even a nightmare. She wanted me to stay with her, there in her dream. _

_I struggled to find words to name the feelings that flooded through me, but I had no words strong enough to hold them. For a long moment, I drowned in them._

_..._

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Alice Cullen was having a good day. Whereas her depressing and self-loathing brother Edward had lately been messing up what used to be a clear vision of the future, today he had reversed his course. Bella's two possible futures were crisp and clear once again, meaning that Edward had decided to stop trying to ignore her. This excited Alice for two reasons. One was that she saw herself becoming good friends with Bella and she was anxious to get to know her better. The other was that she saw that Edward would fall in love with her, something Alice thought would be very good for him.

She also saw that he had decided to visit her house that night. This was a good sign, she thought, showing that he really was going to stop pretending that he was strong enough to stay away from her, even if it was a little creepy. While her husband was playing a game of chess with their brother Emmett in the dining room, Alice was sitting on the couch happily searching Bella's future for clues as to what might happen in the next few days. Rose was in the garage and Esme and Carlisle were in his office talking, as they always were lately, about Edward.

She was envisioning a shopping trip to Olympia when suddenly Bella's future disappeared. What Alice saw next made her gasp.

"Edward... NO!"

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**Author's Note:** As I said before, the italicized sections come from the Midnight Sun draft and are owned exclusively by Ms. Meyer and not by me. I just borrowed a few lines because I could never come close to paraphrasing what she described so vividly and wonderfully.


	3. Watching

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I only own the parts of this story not taken from her works.**

**Author's note:** I really appreciate the reviews but I am nervous about this chapter. The timelines might be a bit confusing since we're jumping forward then back then forward again, hopefully it makes sense. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. **Let me know what you think when you're done!**

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_Watching_

Edward watched her walk through the parking lot before he moved towards the doors himself. As soon as she was inside, his siblings appeared at his side.

"She was totally squinting."

"I know," Edward growled in response to Emmett's observation, "but maybe it really was just the medicine."

"So she actually took them," Emmett asked.

"Yes, Carlisle said he could smell them on her when he was there."

"Whatever, Edward. She's just totally oblivious." Alice was frustrated because she thought that Bella was not going to walk away from this completely untouched. Otherwise, her future would not still be completely blank.

"Don't be bitter, Alice, just because you got taken off of security detail." Emmett was trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't working.

"I can be more careful today."

They boys rolled their eyes. It was her husband who decided to try and explain it to her this time. "She noticed, Alice. Carlisle said she was talking about it in her sleep. We can't afford to have her keep noticing something is up. Not yet, at least."

"I don't see why we are still pretending that everything's going to be okay. It isn't!" With that she huffed off towards the building, leaving the boys behind her.

"I know she's frustrated that her vision isn't working properly, but this is not helpful."

"Edward, I do have to say that I think she was lying about the shoulder. She got anxious when you asked her." Jasper had felt her emotionally tense up. She was worried about the pain but was trying to hide it.

Edward knew this. He thought she looked uncomfortable, and Jasper's observation at the time from behind a car two spots over had cemented it. But Carlisle had warned them about this. Patients almost always under or over exaggerate their symptoms, and Bella was not an over-exaggerator. It was so frustrating that the two gifts that would normally tell them undeniably if she would be okay for some reason didn't work on this girl... even more frustrating that one used to but doesn't anymore.

He stood there growling for a second until Emmett and Jasper put their hands on his back, trying to reassure him. Nothing could reassure him, but he tried to calm himself because he had a job to do now. He couldn't watch her at night, but it was his job to keep an eye on her all day. He understood why they had Carlisle go last night to be with her, they didn't trust him. Edward knew that this was fair, given what happened, but it killed him that he couldn't be there to see her progress for himself. Of course, if anyone could do it safely, he knew it would be Carlisle.

He also couldn't shake the need to be near her. He hated himself for doing what he did, especially to someone he loved. She didn't know that, though. He had once allowed himself to think that he could tell her one day, how he felt, but that was out of the question now. It was becoming more and more obvious that eventually he would have to tell her what he did and after that she would hate him, probably forever.

He wanted to get the long part of the day over with so he could sit next to her in class and monitor her progress himself. Throughout most of the day, he monitored her through the minds of her classmates, looking for clues and signs in her unconscious actions that would let them know how she was doing. However, two medical degrees had taught him that it was much more reliable to observe a patient oneself rather than to rely on someone else's observations. He watched her as much as he could in lunch without drawing attention to himself, but that was hard to do because people seemed to notice when he stared.

What he saw through the minds of the students and teachers in Forks High School that day confirmed his two greatest fears. Bella was getting worse, and she had no idea.

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Carlisle and his wife were enjoying a quiet moment sitting in his office. They were speaking, as they always seemed to be lately, about Edward. For weeks they have been struggling with trying to make the difficult decision to leave Forks. The problem was that the tiny, overcast town in Washington was perfect for their lifestyle and Carlisle always hated uprooting because it meant he had to leave patients behind. But Edward was miserable, and it killed his parents to keep him here while he was so obviously discontent.

"I still think we can wait a little longer. I'm sure that, if she hasn't spoken yet, she won't but I don't think that's a reason to force everyone to flee. This is a close to normal as we can ever get and I would hate to take that away from everyone. I just wish Edward could appreciate that, and..." Carlisle knew what was coming next and readied himself to have this conversation with his wife yet again. "...and I just don't see why he refuses to even speak to her. According to Alice she seems very nice. Why doesn't he think he's allowed to have a friend?"

Carlisle looked lovingly at his wife. Her concern for their family was one of her most endearing qualities and Edward's behavior lately had her constantly agitated. It only made him adore her more, if that was possible. He loved his family but he also had his work to distract him from what was going on at home. Sometimes he forgot that their coven was Esme's entire life, her whole day was filled with thoughts of their children so, when it came to them, she had a tendency to dwell on their concerns.

"I know, but Edward is doing what he thinks is best and it's not our place to question his motives. He thinks he's protecting her by staying unattached and, ultimately, I cannot disagree with him. A vampire is not a safe friend for a human girl, especially when she smells the way she does to him." They have had this conversation more than once already, but it always seemed to comforted Esme to go through it again.

"I think Edward is capable of being more careful than he is giving himself credit for. Of all the children, he has the most control over his instincts. Just think of what would have happened if it had been Emmett..."

He had, and preferred not to do so again. They certainly would not have been sitting there in that same house nearly two months later.

"Remember, my love, that Alice says he still may give in to her. I know that's what you're hoping for so, you're right, we should stay longer until he makes a final decision on the matter. It pains us both, us all, to see him so distraught, but he will decide his course of action and until he does, all we can do is try to be supportive of him when he needs it. It may be..."

"Edward... NO!"

Alice's scream echoed throughout the house. The doctor and his wife locked eyes, hers wide in horror. At once they heard the boys stop playing chess and run to her. In the next half second, Carlisle and Esme were there, too, followed shortly by Rosalie. Jasper had her hand in his. She was shaking.

"Alice what's wrong."

"What's happening?"

"Oh my god, is Edward okay?"

Everyone was asking though they could tell she was still living the vision. Vampire minds can process many things simultaneously and the minds of the Cullens were currently engaged in envisioning all of the different ways their son, or brother, could have hurt himself. Alice hadn't told them that he decided to go to her house that night, so they had no idea where he was supposed to be. They saw him in Seattle or Portland on one of his runs, running into another vampire who was territorial or even worse a small coven.

"There might be... ugh! It's so hard to see!" She stood up.

"What is it, Alice?" Jasper wanted to calm everyone down but was having trouble because he himself was very upset. He had rarely seen Alice look this disturbed by one of her visions.

"There's no time for questions, we need to get to Bella's house immediately. He's going to lose control."

Everyone looked at each other for a second, stunned that he was there with the girl, before they realized that she was already gone. Without a second thought they followed her, running their fastest across town to the police chief's house. Carlisle dreaded the sight they would reach when they got there. It was possible that all of his wife's concerns about moving were about to become reality. If he had given in and killed her there was no way they could stay. They could probably cover it up, they had done it before, especially if he could work it so that he himself signed the death certificate, but that did not mean they could stay. Edward would never be able to stay in this town if he hurt her. In fact, he probably wouldn't be able to stay with the family either. Esme would be crushed, they all would be crushed.

It was late, after midnight, and Forks was sound asleep. The dark houses flew past them so fast they were practically a blur. They cut through the woods on the far side of town in case someone was out driving, but that was unlikely in any case.

As they approached the house they saw Alice scaling the side before she disappeared into a second floor window. They stopped running when they got to the yard.

"Oh Edward, what have you done?" She was whispering but the rest of her family heard her very clearly from the yard. They looked at each other and hesitated following her, until they heard him sob.

"I... I don't know."

Alice flew out the window and landed next to her family. "Carlisle, he needs you, now."

"Should we go to?" someone asked.

"No," Alice said, "definitely not."

At that moment, her father was already standing in the tiny bedroom staring at horror-stricken Edward who couldn't take his eyes off the still sleeping form of the girl. It didn't take long for him to figure out what his son was looking at.

The unmistakable scent of human blood filled the air and swept over him.

____________________________________

Bella knew Charlie thought something was up, she could plainly see the subtle ways he reacted when she answered his thinly veiled questions about her day. She deflected as best she could until he decided that it was a typical teenage mood swing and that he would do best to give her space by retreating to the television in the living room as soon as possible. Bella was thankful because she needed time to think.

After a few minutes sitting quiet and alone in the kitchen, Bella left the dishes unwashed in the sink so that she could enjoy the quiet of her own rom. Charlie had the TV even louder than usual and she couldn't concentrate there. Plus, she didn't want Charlie to change his mind about leaving her alone to her thoughts, and a confrontation would be much less likely if stairs were involved.

Something was up, that was sure, and both Edward and his sister were involved. As much as she wanted to try and solve the mystery, she also wanted to get a good night's sleep in hopes of preparing herself for the next day, it was sure to be interesting. She decided to take a couple of sleeping pills and call it an early night. Besides, she thought another day of observation was in order.

He said he wanted to be friends and that he truly cared about how she was feeling. As much as she wanted to think exclusively about their odd behavior, she couldn't help dwelling on this point. He wanted to be her friend. Bella could not deny the excitement that rose within her when that thought crossed her mind. He cared about how she was feeling. According to her friends, he had never shown the slightest interest in anyone else at school and now her cared about her.

She was getting more and more drawn to this strange boy as the days progressed. His concern for her was endearing, even if she didn't fully understand the reasons behind it. Maybe he really did just have a lot to learn about being someone's friend, rather than their brother. She decided to try and give him the benefit of the doubt. Once she gained his trust a little more, she would confront him about his suspicious behavior and ask why his sister was following her.

These thoughts filled her mind as the pain-reliever PM kicked in sending her to dreamland.

...

When Bella got to school the next morning, she didn't have to wait long to see how Edward would treat her today. He ran into her in the parking lot.

"Good Morning, Bella. Did you sleep well last night?"

She just looked at him, confused. Apparently they were parking lot friends, too, not just 6th period Biology friends. She had not anticipated this.

"I remembered you mentioned you hadn't the night before," he added quickly, somehow sensing her disbelief. He looked at her earnestly and she suddenly found it hard to form sentences.

"Yeah," she said. "I took something last night. I thought a good night's sleep would help."

"Did it? Does your shoulder still hurt?" Again, he seemed very anxious.

"Yeah, kind of... a little." She paused, "but it's not that bad. I think it's getting better."

"I'm very glad to hear that, Bella."

She just smiled in return. Bella hoped to take the conversation away from her health and was about to mention an upcoming English essay when he came at her with yet another odd question.

"Why are you squinting?"

"What?"

"You're squinting."

"Um, it's probably just the sleeping pills. They make me groggy in the morning." _He's new to making friends, he's new to making friends, _she kept reminding herself.

"Oh, I thought that perhaps your eyes were hurting or something."

It was kind of cute, even if it was a little weird. She couldn't help but smile. "Edward, I appreciate your newfound interest in my health, but I promise that I'm okay. No major health problems to repot this morning." She held up her hand as though she were swearing an oath on it.

"I'm very glad to hear it." Again, he seemed relieved, but only slightly.

She always felt her knees give out a little when he looked into her eyes and smiled like that and she didn't want to be late for class, so she decided to end the conversation before he asked for official copies of her hospital records. Actually, she thought, he probably had access to those if he wanted them, since his father worked there.

She winked. "I'll update you later if anything changes between now and Biology." Before she turned to walk away, she saw him smile ever so slightly and nod his head.

"Have a good day, Bella."

Her heart raced as she walked away from him. He asked her about her shoulder again which, given their conversation yesterday, didn't seem out of the ordinary. That's what she reminded herself, at least. But then again she couldn't get over the suspicion that he was reading more meaning in her responses than she meant to communicate.

Days at Forks High were about to become a lot more interesting, she thought. She entered the building to the same buzz she heard the day before in the cafeteria. Everyone was excited about the dance. She could not share their enthusiasm for the event, since a dance seemed like cruel and unusual punishment to someone as clumsy as Bella, but she appreciated their excitement.

Once at her locker, she moved to grab her school books and had to put them back down immediately. She had lied to Edward. The pain in her should was still there and it was not getting better. It was getting worse, stinging, burning...


	4. Restless

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I only own the parts of this story not taken from her works.**

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_"Edward..."_

_She said his name. _

_He quickly assured himself that she had not woken up and caught him, so that meant she must be dreaming. It was equally horrifying and thrilling to think that she was thinking about him as she dreamed. He had been trying to talk himself into leaving again when it happened._

_"Stay, don't go. Please... don't go."_

_Hardly conscious of what he was doing, he began to move towards her sleeping form. He needed to touch her..._

____________________________________

_Restless_

The feelings of... Edward couldn't name them, of something that flooded over him at that moment were the most powerful emotions he had ever experienced, that he could ever even imagine experiencing. She was dreaming of him and wanted him to stay with her. He could hardly have believed it possible.

Could she possibly feel about him the same way he felt about her?

Did he even dare dream that one day he could tell her about this moment, the moment he gave up his resistance and admitted to himself the depth and true nature of his attraction to her? For as long as she thought him human, maybe it was possible to hope, to wish that she could return his affection. It might work. He tried not to let himself think about it, but the image of her fragile hand in his, delicate as china compared to his superhuman strength, sent filled him with an excitement he hadn't experience since he stopped hunting humans...

Monster! Of course, when... if she found out the truth she would hate him, she would be disgusted by him. He wasn't sure if he could handle that. He owed it to her to be truthful, she had protected his secret faithfully for weeks, but his immobile heart broke at the thought of her abhorrence of him, of the monster he was desperately trying to repress. But then again, maybe he wouldn't have to worry about that yet.

He would never try to make her fall for him. That would not be fair, he didn't deserve her. She deserved someone, some_thing_ better than a monster, but he also knew that he could not ignore her anymore. They would be friends, friends from this point forward. He would keep warning her that it would be better if they weren't, giving her the option to leave, but he would not ignore her again. Her conversation, her eyes, even her scent were like a drug to him. He was an addict who had no plans to quit using any time soon.

She was lying on her side on the bed as he walked towards her. Were it not frozen, his heart would have been racing. He could not take his eyes off of her. He was completely mesmerized by the subtle way her body rose and fell with each breath she took, with the way the moonlight coming in through her window danced across her delicate bare skin, exposed by the expulsion of the covers from her bed.

He let himself get closer and closer. This girl, his sleeping beauty, had changed him in a way he never thought possible. His breathing increased as he approached the bed. He wanted her in his arms that moment but was worried she would wake. He slowly, careful allowed himself to sit on the bed next to her, calmed by her closeness.

He was hardly conscious of his actions, distracted by the thoughts and emotions swirling in his head. His finger reached out to trace the line of her skin. Starting at her exposed elbow he let it glide across her milky skin up her arm, over her shoulder and down her back. She shuttered slightly at this but did not wake up.

"Edward"

She said it again. Being that close her could feel the vibration her throat made when she spoke his name. It sent electrifying chills through every inch of his body. He leaned closer, as if to rest his head on the pillow near hers. He saw the goose bumps that appeared on her arms when he breathed onto her neck and was enchanted by how exquisitely painful her scent was from this close.

The monster inside was growling at the thought of being so close to something he so desperately wanted. Edward could feel him trying to surface and knew he should probably get away before something bad happened but he could not bring himself to move. He also felt that there was nothing the monster could do that would make him hurt her. She was too important.

Instead he moved his face nearer to her body, first resting his cheek against the warm skin on the back of her shoulder. She had worn a tank top to bed, so the skin there was exposed, much to his delight.

The monster was delighted too. With his cheek touching her he could feel the blood pulsing through her veins. He turned his head and placed his lips on the spot where his cheek had been just moments ago. As he savored the taste of her another wave of emotion swept over him, drowning him. If there was a heaven, he thought, it would taste like Bella Sawn.

He gently moved his lips slightly, preparing to kiss her again. At that exact moment several things happened almost simultaneously.

First his sleeping beauty went to turn again. He froze, mid kiss and jaw dropped, afraid that she would discover him there in her bed.

Second, he heard the window open and turned to look in time to see Alice standing in front of it. He was so enthralled by his newfound emotions he had not paid attention to the approach of her thoughts.

It caught him off guard. That's why he turned his head so quickly to see her.

As Edward turned his head to look at his sister standing in the room, his teeth grazed across the skin of Bella's shoulder.

He knew what happened before he was able to make eye contact with Alice. He instantly jumped out the bed and moved several steps back, his eyes never leaving the spot where he his teeth had cut her.

"Oh Edward, what have you done?"

"I... I don't know."


	5. Unknown

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I only own the parts of this story not taken from her works.**

**Author's Note:** Get ready, we're about to change the rules...

____________________________________

_Unknown_

Carlisle moved quickly. He saw a box of tissues sitting on the nightstand next to Bella's bed. The smell of the girl's blood didn't bother him, years and years of being around patients had made the fire in his throat completely bearable, but he knew that this must be torture for Edward. As he applied the slightest pressure to the wound, he looked at his son, still awestruck at the sight before him. He could see the anguish in the eyes of his son.

"It's okay, I'll get the bleeding stopped. Edward you should probably leave."

He shook his head slightly, so little a human probably wouldn't have seen it.

Carlisle was apprehensive to trust the judgment of his son given what Alice had seen. This must have been what would have caused him to lose control. An open wound on a human that smelled as good to Edward as Bella did would be a struggle for even Carlisle himself. He removed the tissue to look at the wound again and leaned in closer. It wasn't until that very moment that Carlisle realized what had caused it. He had assumed she scratched herself or Edward had scratched her accidentally, which caused the bloody wound that was making his son so on edge… until he smelled the venom.

He looked sharply at his son. "Edward, did you bite her?"

"My teeth caught her… I wasn't trying to…" He looked like he would be sick. The doctor could hear his family gasp from the lawn, obviously as stunned as he was at this revelation.

He looked at the girl again, still amazed that she was fast asleep. Carlisle tried to decide what he could do for her. The problem was that he had never heard of a situation like this. In his experience, bites were always intentional and therefore injected a large amount of venom into the wound, venom that immediately started the mutation process in the blood. The venom smell on this girl was almost nonexistent and the bite had happened less than a minute ago.

An idea came to him. He thought that it might be possible to suck out just enough blood, the blood tainted with Edward's venom, that the girl would be okay. His mind processed the possibilities of how it might be accomplished at lightning speed.

Edward was out of the question. At first he thought that he himself should do it, but Carlisle had never, in over three hundred years as a vampire, drank from a human. He was worried that, once the sensation began, he would not have the control to stop himself. He also thought it might make his job at the hospital unbearable since part of the ease of his ignoring the smell of human blood came from his never having actually indulged the urged. He thought about the rest of his family. Alice and Jasper were still new to this lifestyle and he couldn't risk having one of them try. Emmett was never known for his ability to control his instincts and Rosalie had also never tasted human blood. For the same reasons he did not think he could do it, he couldn't ask Rosalie. That left Esme, who herself has 'fallen off the wagon' from time to time. This was not a good time to test her control.

If only Edward wasn't a wreck, he would have been the most logical choice. He had the most control over his instincts of those that had fed off humans in the past. But she smelled so good to him, even he probably wouldn't be able to…

"I can do it." Of course he had heard every detail of Carlisle's thought process.

Carlisle looked hesitantly at his son, but Edward stared back with a resolved look in his eyes. A calm had overtaken him and he moved towards where Carlisle stood beside the bed with a sense of purpose. Carlisle wanted to believe him and always gave Edward a lot of credit for his control, but even this might be beyond him.

"I can do it," he said again. Carlisle was still convincing himself that this would be a good idea.

"One small swallow should do it, no more or you'll risk her going into shock." Edward nodded. Being able to hear Carlisle's thoughts he got an exact idea of how much would need to be taken.

"Emmett, can you come help me pull him off her if it comes to that," he asked while never taking his eyes off Edward. Edward did not seem offended but rather reassured at the thought that we would not let him go too far. "Don't breathe, either of you."

Edward nodded, he had stopped breathing, probably to make the burn less intense before he indulged it. Emmett appeared instantly, standing as far away from the sleeping girl as he possibly could. Carlisle knew that if she were going to stay that way, they would have to work very quickly, before the burning started.

As Carlisle removed the tissue, Edward leaned down and put his lips to the spot where, moments ago he had been planting a soft kiss on her delicate shoulder. The burn in his throat got more and more intense than he had ever experienced as his tongue reached out to touch the open wound his teeth had made. Silently reminding himself that he would never be able to live with himself if he hurt this girl anymore than he already had, he began to drink.

As her blood filled his mouth Edward lost all track of time and sense. In this night of forcefully strong emotions and feelings, this sensation topped all the others for sheer forcefulness. As delicious as the girl had smelled, it was really nothing compared to how she tasted. In all his years of drinking human blood, which was a pretty intense experience each time, he had never come across a flavor near as exquisite.

He swallowed once and instantly, somehow was able to feel that a strong hand had been placed on his shoulder reminding him that he had reached his quota. Edward would never understand where the strength came from to stop but he released his lips from her pale white skin and stepped away.

Carlisle was right there and leaned in to smell the wound again. The smell of the venom seemed to be gone but it was so faint to start with that he wished there was a way to be certain. He also knew they couldn't risk taking any more of her blood so this was the most they could do for her. He looked up at his son to see how he was holding up.

"I'm fine. Will she be?"

"It's hard to say, Edward, I've never heard of this happening or being tried. I think we got it but there are still so many things we don't understand about the mechanics of the transformation process…"

"Um, shouldn't we get out of here, you know, in case she wakes up or something?" Emmett was very uncomfortable standing in the room a second longer than her had to, the bite mark had started to clot, but was still fairly fresh. He decided not to wait for them to respond as he jumped out the window.

Edward was anguished at the thought of leaving her side. Unless they were certain she would be completely unharmed by his foolish action, he couldn't imagine leaving her there by herself. He could hear the thoughts of his family urging them to get out of the house so they could go home and explain everything but he was trying desperately to ignore them. Carlisle didn't have to be a mind reader to know what Edward was feeling. He came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Even if she wakes up, there isn't much we would be able to do. Alice can keep an eye on her while we go home and try to figure out how we're going to handle this." Edward knew he was right and, after one last look at his angel sleeping restfully, utterly unaware that she had just nearly been killed by a bloodthirsty vampire, he moved towards the window and jumped out.

The Cullens didn't wait around to chat in the police chief's yard. They ran back to the safety and seclusion of their house with as much speed and intensity as they had left it with less than ten minutes earlier. Edward was trying to block out the hostility of the thoughts shooting at him from other members of his family and was instead trying to focus exclusively on Alice's mind. He wanted her to search the future to see what would happen to Bella. He could hear her trying, but to no result. It made him nervous that Alice wasn't coming up with anything, especially since that was his justification for leaving Bella's house, but he understood that she was probably shocked by what she had seen and needed to be home and calmed down before she could look properly.

Once they reached the safety of their home everyone went straight to the dining room. They used the room for their family meetings, all of which lately had been about Edward and Bella. Everyone took their usual seats and hardly waited for everyone else to sit down before the screaming started. The contrast was deafening compared to all the nearly silent whispering they had been doing at the Swan residence.

"What happened?"

"What the hell was that, Edward?"

"Is she going to be okay?"

"You stupid, idiotic ass…"

Carlisle held up his hand to stop them. Edward sat next to him with his eyes closed and his arms crossed. He did not move to speak. The doctor decided to begin with an explanation.

"When Edward's teeth grazed her shoulder," he glanced sideways at his son, who winced visibly, "some of his venom entered her bloodstream. Edward, remarkably, was able to take her contaminated blood thereby, hopefully, removing the venom from her system."

"Hopefully?" The question came from his wife, she was genuinely concerned about the health of the girl.

Edward winced again, probably because he already knew what his father was about to say. "It's complicated. A bite is usually intentional; the teeth sink further into the skin, into the bloodstream, planting a much larger amount of venom into the system. This is what begins the transformation process. The venom begins the mutation near the site of the bite and spreads to the rest of the body through the bloodstream. The problem is that while I think we got it, it is possible that some was carried further into her bloodstream than we were able to retrieve. If that happened, and we weren't able to get it all out…"

"What would happen, she'll transform anyway? Can it be done with so little venom?" Jasper asked this time.

"I don't know." Carlisle wished he had a more definitive answer for his family, especially since so much of their future depended on it. They looked very distraught. Alice had her head in her hands, staring at the table. "I've never heard of this happening before. It could be that the transformation would just take longer. It could be that, if there is venom in her system, her body will reject it because there is so little of it. The venom could be trying to take but who is to say that it will? Actually, who is to say that there is any at all left? Edward may have gotten it all. We just don't know."

He looked to his clairvoyant daughter, who usually would have taken that opportunity to chime in with details of her vision but she still had her head in her hands and was shaking her head. Soon everyone was looking her direction.

Alice could not figure out what was wrong. Bella's future was completely blank. There was nothing, not hint, no shadow of a possibility or two. Nothing. She kept trying, over and over and over again, to find some indication of what would happen, but everywhere she turned she hit a blank wall. She tried to give up Bella's future and focus on Edward's, assuming his would be tied to hers in some way now, but when she looked for the two of them together, they both disappeared. She looked at her own future, trying to see the two on one of those shopping trips she had seen earlier that night, only to have her own future disappear as well. She couldn't help but wonder if this was in some way prophetic, if tying their futures to Bella meant they would cease to exist somehow, but her visions had never worked like that before. They had always clearly shown her what bad thing would happen, they did not just vanish.

She realized that everyone was staring at her, looking to her for an answer as to what would happen to the girl. She looked at Edward, who met her gaze with suffering in his eyes. He had seen her struggle to search with no luck. He knew she was frustrated and he also just as frustrated himself.

"I'm sorry, Edward."

"This isn't your fault, Alice. I'm the one who stole her future." In his relatively long lifetime, Edward had plenty of occasions to hate himself, but he had never done so more intently than that night. He was practically shaking at the thought that he had ruined the once promising future of the first woman he had ever loved.

"What is going on?" Jasper leaned over to put a comforting hand on his wife's back.

"I can't see."

"Then what are her options?"

"Nothing. I can't see anything. Her future has completely disappeared. I have no idea…" she couldn't even finish the thought.

Edward moved to stand up from the table. "I need to go back there if we can't see how she'll do the rest of the night. If something happens, someone needs to be there."

Alice stood up, too. "I should go; I'm supposed to be the one watching her, remember? And I think you should stay here with Carlisle and try to figure out what's going on."

Carlisle spoke next. "I think Alice is right, though I would caution you to stay out of the girl's bedroom this time unless it becomes necessary. We need to be very careful moving forward."

Jasper also stood up. "I'll go with her." He obviously didn't feel comfortable letting a very upset Alice go off on her own. "We'll let you know what's going on when we get there."

Edward knew it was for the best, he himself had already done enough damage to the girl that he didn't want to risk hurting her again. But, he hated being away from her every second that he thought she could be in pain or distress. It was his fault and he wanted to be there to make it right, if there was a way. Begrudgingly, he agreed to the plan. It was not ideal, but he knew Jasper was always very careful, especially when it came to protecting Alice, and the thought comforted him. Slightly.

They were gone instantly. Rosalie decided to take the opportunity to bring up the concern that had been swimming around in her head since Edward had joined the family in the yard.

"We're going to have to move now, aren't we?" She was angry. She had fought hard to stay in Forks the last time Edward did something rash and thoughtless to Bella, saving her from that stupid van, and she didn't intend to lose the battle this time around. "I am not moving."

"I don't really see a way around it, dear." Esme didn't like the idea of leaving either, but she was worried about her family. Any plan that possibly put them in danger was one that she would not support and she felt certain that their staying in Forks would only lead to more trouble.

Carlisle put up his hand again to silence his daughter before she could continue her verbal assault. Rose stopped mid curse word as he continued. "I will not tell you that ultimately we won't have to leave, but for the time being it is out of the question."

Everyone at the table, even Edward, looked at him curiously.

"We don't know what effect this will have on Bella. Until we do, there is no way we can leave her. She may be fine, and after we're certain of that, we'll revisit the topic of moving. But she may not be fine." It was Edward's turn to bury his head in his hands this time. "What if we didn't get it all and she begins the transformation process? How could we possibly leave her here to go through that by herself? She would have no idea what was happening to her; she doesn't know what we are. We will not be going anywhere until we see what happens and that is the end of discussion on that topic, is that understood?" He was looking back and forth between Rose and Edward, suspicious that the conversation was only just beginning on the topic but confident, from the looks on their faces, that it would at least be a conversation that he would not have to hear. Edward smiled slightly at his reasoning.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Emmett was rarely the one to get everyone back on topic, but Carlisle suspected that he wanted to take the negative attention off of his wife.

"I've been thinking about that." He looked to Edward. "Do you agree?"

Edward nodded his agreement to the plan forming in Carlisle's head.

Carlisle pulled out his buzzing cell phone and answered it. Jasper was reassuring him that Bella was fast asleep, though it was hard to give any other information from where they stood in the edge of the woods. That would be a problem. He said she was talking in her sleep, something Edward hadn't shared with the rest of the group yet.

"She keeps saying his name. Do you think she knows he was there?"

They all looked to Edward for the answer. For a moment he let himself remember the flood of emotion that he felt she unconsciously said his name. "She was doing that before it happened. I was so curious to hear what she dreamed about and so… I couldn't believe she was dreaming about me. It wasn't even a nightmare." He buried his head in his hands again.

Rosalie snorted and rolled her eyes. Emmett was nodding his head in approval until his wife punched him in the arm. Esme took a sharp breath and placed her hand on her chest, over her heart. Despite the severity of their situation, she had a smile that lit up her entire face.

"My point is," said Edward, trying to ignore the reactions of his family to this news, "that the sleep talking is not a symptom brought on by… it's not important to this discussion."

"Okay, let's talk surveillance then." Carlisle could tell his son was hoping for a change or subject. "First, we need to make sure that someone is with her nearly constantly. I hate the idea of sneaking around her house but we need to be watching her as much as possible to see how she is, or isn't, reacting. It doesn't sound like listening from the forest is going to be very effective. I don't have any evening shifts for another week so I will volunteer myself for overnight duty, but I also intend to spend as much time as I can spare doing research to trying and figure out if this has happened before so we can get a better idea what to expect. Edward…"

Of course, Edward already knew what was coming and was quiet in his seat, arms again crossed in front of him. By the look on his face, Carlisle gathered that he agreed with the decision. "Edward, you will not be keeping watch at the house, but I will definitely need your help with the research here. That doesn't mean, however, that you'll be hands off, which leads me to my next point. _Everyone_ will be in school as much as possible. Alice, can you see the weather for the next few days?"

There was a brief pause. "There won't be any problems." She sounded bitter, obviously upset that it wasn't a general problem with her vision. Carlisle thought that would have been an encouraging development but apparently Alice did not see it that way.

"Alright, everyone in school. Monitoring her progress while she is awake will be a completely different kind of task. Edward can keep an eye on her as much as possible through other students…"

"That shouldn't be a problem; it's what he does all day anyway." One stern glance from Carlisle stopped Rosalie from saying anything more on the subject.

"As I was saying, Edward can keep an eye on her in class, but we will need to keep extra watch in situations where her senses might be over-stimulated."

"What do you mean?" Alice was asking through the phone, but everyone at the table could hear her.

"Outside where the light might be a little bright, in between classes when the noise in the hallway will be louder, at lunch where there will be strong smells… we are going to need to see how she is reacting in those situations."

Emmett was nodding his head but it was Jasper who spoke first. "We can make sure someone is following her in between classes and lunch will be easy, since the whole school eats together. But why are we worried about her senses being over-stimulated?"

Edward suddenly paled and looked sick again because he just pieced together the random thoughts that Carlisle was collecting to form his theory. He looked at his son with compassion as he explained it to the rest of the group.

"If there is venom still in her system, it may be possible for her to begin to take on some of our… characteristics. She is already very pale skinned, so there won't be much noticeable difference there but if she begins to take on our heightened sensibilities, there is a chance that we might get to see evidence of it in those situations which might over-stimulate her. If she is wincing because of the noise in the hallway that never bothered her before, it may be because her mind is not adjusting to a keener sense of hearing."

"That makes sense."

"And we're going to need to know how her shoulder is doing. We might be able to see if she is physically uncomfortable, but that isn't going to tell us much. Edward…" He didn't have to finish before receiving the answer he was looking for.

"I'll talk to her." Secretly, Edward's frozen heart leapt at the opportunity to have a legitimate excuse to keep talking to Bella. He knew why Carlisle wanted this. In addition to hearing from Bella's own mouth how her shoulder was healing, he was also going to need to start building her trust again. Carlisle liked to prepare for every consequence. If the venom did somehow trigger the beginnings of a transformation, they would be forced to explain things to her eventually. Carlisle thought the news would come easier if Bella became more comfortable with Edward and the rest of the family. On the one hand, Edward was excited by this assignment. On the other, he was disgusted by reminders of why it was assigned to him and horrified at the thought of it being necessary. He was supposed to make her trust him just in case he has to tell her that he has essentially killed her.

"Good." Carlisle had worried about this point.

Esme cleared her throat and started to speak. Her eyes were full of loving concern as she looked at her son. "From the sound of it dear, you're behavior to her to date has been very," she searched for the right word, not wanting to offend, "unsteady. You are going to need to be more careful, more gentlemanlike to her. No more suddenly deciding to ignore her or telling her that you shouldn't be her friend. She is going to, no she may, very much _need_ you to be her friend from this point on, so be a stable one for her. It is probably very frustrating for her to have you constantly changing your mind about whether or not you are going to talk to her."

Edward hated it when his mother lectured him about his manners, especially his manners regarding Bella. This certainly wasn't their first conversation on the topic. But she was right, he knew that he was being very rude to her by ignoring as he had been and, before he had to tell her something that would make her hate him for the rest of eternity, he cherished the chance to redeem himself in her eyes for awhile.

"Alright, are we all on the same page now?"

The murmured yeses he received in response to his questioned told Carlisle that the rest of his family was just as troubled by this as he and Edward were. There was nothing more to talk about so everyone split up to be consumed by their own thoughts. He and Edward walked together, silently, to his office to begin their research, both silently hoping that to find something that disproved their theory.


	6. Close Call

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I only own the parts of this story not taken from her works.**

**Author's Note:** Thanks to pruningshears for the idea about First Beach!

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_Close Call_

Esme watched the sleeping girl from the chair in the corner of her room. Her husband and son were busy doing all of the research they could get their hands on to see if this had happened before so they would know what to expect. From the second Edward got home from school to the moment he left again he was holed up in Carlisle's office looking for answers. It had been two days and they hadn't had much luck. Until tonight, that is. Apparently they had caught onto something earlier this evening that had them both intrigued.

That's why she had volunteered to keep an eye on Bella tonight. She kept her cell phone in her hand, sending text message updates to her medical scholars throughout the evening. Not that there was much to tell. Bella was a restless sleeper, to be sure, but Edward said he had noticed that when he first entered her room, before anything had even happened. Esme would argue that's what caused this whole mess in the first place, though Edward would never place even a hint of blame on her. Other than that, though, none of them expected her to be able to observe much else unless she woke up.

That's one reason why they made sure someone was there with her. They thought her symptoms would be more noticeable at night and if she woke up… it was best to have someone there. They had already decided they would explain everything if it came to that, but they (especially Edward) hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

As much as she wished Edward would have come himself, she understood why he wouldn't. He was worried about hurting her again. The thought made Esme happy for her son, that he had finally met someone he cared about this much. She had been worried about him for decades, worried that Carlisle had made him too young or that, because he wasn't interested in dating at the time, perfectly reasonable given the war and the pandemic flu outbreak that killed his parents, he would never be interested in meeting someone.

She could already see a change in him; that was encouraging. Edward had told her how Carlisle was before she changed him and she saw for herself how Emmett had changed Rosalie. Rose was usually unfairly characterized as being vain and petty, but Esme remembered how much worse it had been before she found Emmett. She was an angel now compared to how she acted those first few years. It was the only time she had ever thought that it might not be so bad for one of them to leave the house for awhile.

She had longed for that for Edward for so long. She wanted nothing more than for him to find someone who made him happy, happy like his father made her. Esme took every chance she could get of sneaking Alice away to try and learn more about this girl. Her daughter was frustrated that her gift did not seem to work on Bella anymore, but it seemed to give Alice comfort to relate everything she had seen before, everything she had learned about this delicate human girl who was destined to make her son finally fall in love.

As she stared at the girl sleeping, tossing again, she fought back an urge to go wake her up and talk about Edward, exaggerating all of his outstanding qualities just as falsely as every good mother ought. She was sure that she would have success. After all, Bella seemed more than willing to broach the subject… she had been mumbling his name over and over all night.

That was the other reason they wanted someone there with her. Edward was worried that, with how vivid her dreams seemed to be, she might be piecing things together while she sleeps. He wanted someone to listen to what she was saying in her sleep as a way to figure out what she knew or what she thought she knew.

Esme took great delight in relaying to her son every time the girls subconsciously spoke his name. She also could not help adding her own observations. She figured this would be perfectly reasonable, since he would have heard them in her head anyway if he had been there. She also couldn't help herself because she was really beginning to grow attached to this young girl that she had never been introduced to.

_She just said your name, Edward dear_

_Alice was right, she really is very pretty-not sure what Rose was thinking_

_She just mentioned Alice again. Tell her, it would make her feel better_

_Never mind I told her myself_

_I think her shoulder is still bothering her, she winced the last time she rolled onto it_

_What color are her eyes-they're close I can't see_

_I think she would look lovely in blue, I'll have to remember that_

_She said Edward again, and she thinks you are too concerned with her health_

Of course, her husband soon asked that she resist the urge to keep sharing her thoughts for fear that Bella would hear her furiously pounding the keys on her phone. Had the request come from Edward, she probably would have ignored it, but she did not want to upset the doctor. He was right. The poor girl needed her sleep and she did not want to risk her waking.

She tried to imagine what she would say if that happened. Esme was the only Cullen that Bella had never seen before and she wondered if she would make the connection. She guessed she would. Edward said that she recognized Carlisle right away that day in the hospital because of their similarities. Still, she thought of how traumatic that would be for Bella and decided to put her phone away and sit quietly and patiently the rest of the night unless something new happened.

She didn't have to wait long for something new to happen. Bella, in the middle of one of her many restless fits that night, screamed and suddenly sat straight up in bed.

She opened her eyes.

She was looking directly at the old rocking chair in the corner when she gasped.

It was empty, but rocking, silently, of its own accord.

____________________________________

Alice knew that they had a problem. She hadn't realized it in time to prevent them from keeping Bella from school that day so now they were going to have to think fast of a way to get her to ditch the rest of her classes and they were having trouble coming up with anything short of kidnapping her. While Edward was busy keeping an eye on Bella through her classmates he rarely paid attention to his siblings' minds. His absence from their discussion proved that he was blocking them out again. There was no way he wouldn't have been there otherwise.

"Do you think he can just talk her into leaving?" Jasper asked.

"I really wouldn't know." Alice was still bitter about her newfound blind spot.

"I'm asking for your opinion, Alice, not a definite answer," Jasper gently reminded her. "You know her better than Emmett and me. Do you think she's the type who could be talked into coming with us? We could make up something about going to a movie or going hiking or to Seattle or something and try to get her to go along."

Alice closed her eyes and thought about that for a second. "It's hard to say. He might be able to convince her if he can keep his cool, but he's so high strung right now I doubt he could hide his frustration if she says no, even just initially. It would tip her off immediately and she would start asking questions, getting suspicious."

"Then we'll answer them," Emmett said, frustrated.

"Edward doesn't want us to," said Alice reluctantly.

"So? He's the only one who thinks that this can be kept from her forever. We all know that's not true and I think we should do it sooner, not later." They had been having the same argument for days now.

"Look, Emmett, you know I agree with you, but it's not our decision to make, its Edward's, end of conversation. Let's get back to figuring out if we can get her out of school."

"I still think we should grab her."

"Emmett! We're not kidnapping Bella!"

Jasper had been quiet during the argument, thinking. He spoke now in their silence. "Maybe we shouldn't try to take her out of school."

"What?"

"Are you serious?" His wife and brother were staring at him with looks that changed from confused to skeptical.

"Okay, just hear me out. There are some good reasons to consider leaving her here. First, we still don't know if we even need to be concerned. It might not affect her." Neither spoke, but their eyes suggested they did not agree with his reasoning.

"Second, even if it does affect her, everything we think we've observed has indicated that the signs she is, she _may_, be showing are very weak, so weak she hasn't noticed them… if they're there. If anything, she'd probably be sensitive to the smell, but nothing more."

Before the other two could object, Jasper went on. "_And_, if she is more… attuned… isn't that something we should know? I mean up until now we have seen possible evidence of symptoms, but nothing other than shoulder pain has been really concrete. This would be concrete. We would definitely know after today."

Alice was tired of people wanting to believe that Bella was going to be okay. If she were going to be okay, Alice thought, there wouldn't be a problem with her vision. But Carlisle, Edward and even Jasper all thought that the hole in her vision could just be caused by the uncertainty of the situation. The result hasn't been decided, they say, so there is nothing to foretell yet. Alice did not agree but there was little point in arguing. She preferred not to test Bella like this, worried about the possible consequences.

"I understand what you're saying, but wouldn't it be better to not take the risk? We can't make up an excuse to be there in case something happens. What if she goes after someone?"

All three shuddered at the thought.

"Maybe we should call Carlisle and see what he thinks," Emmett suggested.

As Emmet moved to reach for his phone, the bell for class rang. Alice silently called out for her brother, hoping that Edward would hear her and come to where they were standing behind the gym building. He appeared very quickly behind them, having already heard the specifics of the argument in their thoughts as he approached.

"Absolutely not."

"I thought you would agree," Alice said. "It's too risky, but I can't see how we're going to get her to leave."

Jasper was trying to restate his argument but Edward cut him off.

"We don't need conclusive evidence, Jasper. Bella is not a science project, she is a person and we are not going to test her like this just to see what happens."

"Then how are you going to get her out of here? She won't go easily," he said bitterly. It had been nearly 40 years, but Jasper still got annoyed sometimes when Edward cut him off like that before he had a chance to articulate his argument.

"Leave that to me." He then turned to walk back towards the cafeteria building, not waiting for the others. A plan was starting to form in his head. He would need to talk to her as soon as possible and what would be more natural than two friends having lunch together. That would give him 40 minutes to convince her to duck out early.

Hopefully it would work. He didn't want to think of what could happen if he wasn't able to persuade her.

Today, in Bella's 6th period Biology class, they would be blood typing.

As he entered the cafeteria it wasn't difficult to spot her. She was leaving the lunch line heading towards the table she usually sat at with her friends. He moved towards her as fast as he humanly could in the crowded room.

"Hello Bella." He smiled at her.

Bella was stunned, he had never spoken to her before in the cafeteria. She tried to form a coherent sentence.

"Hi." Close enough.

"I was thinking you could sit with me today. I would like to talk to you about what's going on in Biology, I could use some help, if that's alright." Edward could hear the mind of Bella's friend Jessica, standing right next to them, explode with curiosity and envy.

"Sure. Where to?" If he could have heard Bella's thoughts, he would have known that she was instantly suspicious. Edward Cullen needed about as much help in Biology as she did. She wondered what else he wanted to talk about.

He led her to an empty table that was right next to the one he usually sat at with his siblings. Bella looked over at them as she passed and was surprised that three of the four looked back up at her. Alice, and Emmett both met her gaze and smiled, slightly, back at her. Jasper was staring at her with a look that she did not understand and Rosalie had her back turned to Bella and did not see her.

His brothers and sisters had never paid attention to her before, they never paid attention to anyone, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of the change. She had thought that his sister Alice was following her around two days ago, but yesterday she hadn't seen her once. This was a strange family.

Edward pulled out a chair for her before putting himself in one directly across from her on the other side of the table. He looked in his hands trying to figure out how to start.

"What did you need to talk to me about, Edward, because we both know you don't need any help in Biology." Her perceptiveness was one of her most fascinating qualities. But, it was also one of her more troubling, especially now. Still he couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry about that, but I thought you would appreciate your friends not getting suspicious." He said it coolly, trying to keep the mood from becoming too intense. Jasper just warned him that she was suspicious. This was going to be difficult. He flashed a smile.

"I do, thank you," she replied, to his surprise, just as coolly.

She smiled back, though her effort was hardly as convincing. Acting was not as natural to her as it was to him. It worked, though, and threw him off. There was something fascinating about her face when she tried to be angry like that and he could tell she was frustrated. He paused just long enough to give her an opportunity to take control of the situation.

"I hope you didn't bring me over here to ask about my health again because, unfortunately, I have no news to report. I am no better or worse than yesterday." She looked at him as she said it and immediately regretted it. As soon as their eyes met, she lost control of her attempt to be convincing and knew that he wasn't buying it. His eyes were tormented, she couldn't understand it.

He looked down. "Bella, if it really annoys you that much that when I ask how you're feeling, I will try to stop. Although, I_ was_ going to ask about your shoulder again since I noticed you weren't carrying anything with that arm today."

She instantly felt horrible. He was trying to be her friend and she kept shooting sarcastic comments at him trying to deflect his attention to her health. It was really just that she wanted to spend their precious little time speaking together talking about something other than her. She was their constant topic of conversation but was dying to know more about her inquisitor.

"I'm sorry, Edward. It's just that I always get uncomfortable when I'm in the spotlight and, sometimes, when you're questioning me like that its how I feel. In the spotlight. I feel like we only talk about me." She didn't dare tell him what she would have rather talked about and she was well aware that she didn't answer his question.

"I'm sorry that you haven't been enjoying our discussions. I have been enjoying learning about you so much that I hadn't noticed we rarely got to other topics." With an earnest gaze into her eyes, he rendered Bella speechless. He took the opportunity to add, "And you still haven't answered my question."

She just looked at him, trying to quell her mind as it screamed out in response to what he just said. Edward Cullen was enjoying learning about her. He wasn't just making polite, awkward conversation. He actually was enjoying it. Her heart was racing. It took several moments before she could answer him with some self control.

"It's fine."

"Then why aren't you using that arm?"

"Edward, why can't we talk about something else?" She was pleading, but knew it was pointless.

"You still didn't answer my question."

"If I do, can we talk about something else?"

"That seems reasonable." She could tell he was a little unwilling and disappointed at the thought, but she was determined to change the subject.

"Fine, I lied. My shoulder still hurts, it hurts worse, actually. I figure I must have pulled or strained something in gym the other day so I thought that taking it easy might help." He was instantly anxious, and there was also that other look again, the one which always gave Bella the impression he knew something she didn't.

At the table next to them, Jasper could feel Bella's suspicion rising again. He silently warned his brother to keep it light, or she would never give in. It was good that he did, because at the moment, Edward had forgotten why he asked her to have lunch with him in the first place.

"You know, they have doctors for that kind of thing. Diagnosing, treating… I know one. He might be able to help with that." His smile was slightly crooked, she hadn't noticed before now.

She couldn't help but laugh. "If it gets much worse, I may take you up on it, but for right now I prefer to try and ride it out." Before he could object, she decided to hold him up to his end of the deal. "But enough about me."

"What would you like to talk about?"

"You." She said it a little too quickly and earnestly. She hoped he didn't hear how desperate she was to talk about him but the look on his face suggested otherwise. He did not want to talk about himself.

Hesitantly, he asked, "what would you like to know?"

"I think you know what I want to know," he still owed her an explanation about the incident with the van, "but since I get the feeling you won't tell me, you can start by talking about why you suddenly decided to be my friend again. It was kinda sudden."

"I'm sorry about that, Bella. I cannot think back on my behavior to you without shame. I was horribly rude. But…" he hesitated, looking for the right words, "I just decided that I didn't want to stay away from you anymore. Don't get me wrong, it's still better, for you, if we're not friends, but I'm giving in to my selfish side by no longer keeping my distance."

"What on earth does that mean?" His cryptic answers only fed her desire to keep him talking.

"It means, that, if you were smart, you wouldn't want to be my friend."

She sighed. This obviously wasn't going anywhere but she didn't want to give him an opportunity to change the subject to her again.

"So where did you infinite knowledge of Biology come from, is it just because your dad is a doctor?" If she couldn't get him to talk about himself, maybe she could get him to talk about his family.

His smile carried an expression she did not entirely understand, like she was missing some kind of inside joke. "You could say that. I have been interested in the subject for years and Carlisle has always encouraged my studies."

"How long have you been with the Cullen's'?"

"For a very long time."

She was getting frustrated and he took the opportunity to turn the conversation around.

"You have been sidetracking me, I asked you over here for a reason."

"I'm tired of talking about my shoulder, Edward."

He smiled. "I know. It's not that, I promise." She leaned towards, him very curious. "My brothers and sisters are thinking of ducking out early today to go to Port Angeles to see a movie and we were wondering if you would like to come along."

She was floored. Edward Cullen was asking her to skip class and go see a movie with him. Instantly she wanted to say yes but something else was bothering her. She had never skipped class in Phoenix, and felt it would be an even harder feat to pull off in a school 10 percent its size in a town where her father was the police chief.

"Skip class? Why can't you go see a later show?"

"Bella, it's healthy to skip class every now and then, just to get away. Would it help if I promised you won't get caught?" She was hesitating, but when he flashed his perfect smile at her he sealed the deal.

"How can you promise?"

"You may have noticed that I miss a lot of class but have never been in trouble for it. It's all in having confidence in your excuse, which I'll take care of."

"What are you going to say?"

"Well…" He knew that explanations worked better if they stuck to as much truth as possible. He only worried about bringing up the topic without raising her suspicions. Confidence, he reminded himself. "I heard that they're blood typing in biology today, so we can tell Mrs. Cope that you need to leave because the sight of blood makes you physically sick."

He looked up to see how she was doing. Her face was twisted up slightly. "Is that a problem?"

"That's not even a lie, actually. Although it's not the sight it's the smell."

For reasons she could not understand, he was shocked by her statement. "Humans can't smell blood, Bella."

"Well I can and it makes me pass out every time. "

Edward could hear his siblings stiffen at the table next to him. They were all thinking the exact same thing, which Edward formed into his next question.

"Is this…" he paused. "Have you _always_ been able to smell blood or is this a… _recent_ development?"

She didn't catch his anxiety, apparently still caught up in the thought of being in class while they would be pricking fingers. She wasn't even looking at him.

"As long as I can remember. So maybe you're right, it would be a good idea to skip today." She looked up.

He looked relieved, amused and pleased with himself all at the same time. In the few minutes they had left at lunch, they settled the details of their plan. Bella's pulse was racing at the thought of skipping to spend time with Edward and his strange family. She had seen enough of Edward's smooth talking to be convinced that they would succeed in leaving without suspicion from the faculty. The students would be another question entirely, especially Mike who would definitely notice her absence as well as Edward's, but she decided to try and not let that worry her.

She was spending time with Edward Cullen. For the moment, that was all she could care about. Besides, she could make it up to Mike tomorrow.

The forecast promised some rare rays of sunshine and they were all planning on going to First Beach the next day.


	7. Ditching

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I only own the parts of this story not taken from her works.**

____________________________________

_Ditching_

The sound the wrench made as it hit, then passed through, the garage wall echoed through the forest that surrounded the beautiful house by the river. Emmett and Rosalie fought often, a byproduct of their natural tenacity, and they both knew it would pass quickly, but it was rare for them to destroy things in the process. That kind of destruction was typically the product of a different kind of passionate expression.

But Emmett had been frustrated all afternoon and the return of his siblings from their trip to Port Angeles pushed him over the top. He knew better than to express that irritation by trying to talk about it, he never won arguments with Rose, so he let his anger out in another, in his mind, safer way. He threw things.

"Wow, that really makes it better. Carlisle and Esme will love that. You know how much they enjoy new holes in the walls."

His response was a growl, so loud a hiker nearby would have thought they were dangerously near a bear. He couldn't talk to her when she was like this. He was so tired of her stubborn hissy fits. She needed to get over this whole Bella Swan thing and she needed to do it soon, before they missed any more of the fun. Actually, he would settle for her letting up enough to stop insisting that they _both_ ignore her. If she wanted to, that was fine, but why did that mean that _he_ couldn't hang out with them while she was around.

He went to reach for another wrench.

"Oh let it go, Emmett, you're being such a baby about this."

"Let's get one thing straight gorgeous, I am _not_ the stubborn vampire in this marriage. That honor goes all to you, babe. No competition." He hadn't meant to speak. He knew that, as soon as he did, she would start to talk him down. He wanted to be angry for awhile longer.

"If you're that upset about missing the movie, you and I can go tomorrow." This was it, she was trying to reel him in. He contemplated whether he should give up early or make her work for it.

"That wasn't the point, _dear._"

"Was it the company you were craving? Are you saying you would rather go to some crappy movie with your brothers and their…" she hated using the word, "dates, than hang out with me all afternoon?" The look on her face as she moved towards him said that she was going in for the kill. It was hopeless to resist at this point. Emmet decided to give in.

He let out a loud sigh, "no."

She wrapped her arms around his waist, never letting go of him with her gaze. This was a complete knockout, his wife did not play fair. She leaned up to kiss him, stopping just in front of his lips. "Good, because I would have missed you too much."

As lovely as making out with his wife always was, even after all these years, Emmett was angry with himself for giving in so quickly. After a few minutes he decided to try a softer approach now that he had her so close. He chose his words carefully.

"Alice is right, you know. No matter what happens, Bella is around to stay. We're going to have to acknowledge her eventually."

It was working, she was softening up. Rosalie buried her head in his chest. She inhaled and exhaled very deliberately, letting him know she still did not want to talk about it yet. But she wasn't yelling at him, so that was progress. He let his hand run through her golden blonde hair.

Then she spoke.

"It's not that I hate her, mostly. It's that I hate what she is doing to our family. Things were normal before she got involved."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Things were boring, you mean. Come on, this has got to be one of the worst High Schools we have ever had to subject ourselves to. At least we have something to distract us all day."

She smiled slightly at that, then looked pensive again. "I honestly hope this isn't happening to her. I know my behavior hasn't really backed this up, but I _am_ worried for her."

He held her closer. "I know, babe. But it doesn't look good and us ignoring it won't keep it from happening. He can't go with her tomorrow and he's really upset about it. You don't have to do it for her, but maybe we should make an effort for Edward's sake. Poor kid is falling apart."

"I know…"

____________________________________

"Is this it?" Bella was sure that Edward had had said that his brothers and sisters were coming with them. Plural.

"Yes." He seemed aggravated, annoyed. "Rosalie has a… paper to write tonight and Emmett didn't want to come without her."

Then he seemed to regain control over himself. He smiled at her. "But Alice and Jasper are both still coming, though, so you don't have to worry about spending the whole evening with me alone."

She wanted to tell him how much that definitely would _not_ bother her… at all, but couldn't figure out how to say it without sounding terribly desperate.

"Good."

She wanted to kick herself. She had the opportunity to spend an entire evening with Edward Cullen, a boy she had dreams about at night. Edward Cullen, the painfully handsome guy who noticed no one outside his family circle, who suddenly decided he wanted to be her friend, noticed her, had asked her to skip class the rest of the day, had saved her from the horror of blood typing in biology class, and the most coherent sentence she could put together consisted of one word. This was going to be a long night.

"Hi Bella!" His sister Alice was suddenly standing next to her. Popping out of thin air was apparently a Cullen thing. Edward did it to her all the time. She turned to greet her, smiling. Nervous as she was, Alice's enthusiasm was hard to not return.

"Nice to meet you. Alice, right?"

She laughed, it was almost musical sounding. "Yeah. Sorry, I forgot we haven't been introduced. Edward talks about you so much I feel like I know you."

Bella's heart stopped for a second as she inhaled suddenly, then it started racing. She couldn't stop herself from looking at him, but his eyes were not on her. They were shooting a death glare towards his sister. Alice just smiled sweetly, innocently back at him. She broke the look first, returning her gaze to Bella.

"You also haven't met Jasper." She motioned for him to join them. Bella hadn't noticed him standing near the back end of the car, keeping his distance and looking relatively calm as he took the outstretched hand of the pixie-child practically bouncing next to him. He smiled at Bella, almost as if his eyes were trying to apologize for what had just happened.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Bella." She was nervous and her heart was still pounding from the thought of Edward talking about her to his family, but when she shook his hand, a calm spread through her and she felt oddly at ease in this small group. She was able to return his smile.

"Okay let's go!" Alice was already getting in the car.

Bella looked at Edward. They had already visited the office to make her excuses for the rest of the day, but they hadn't talked about what they were going to do with her truck, which reminded her of another problem. Charlie.

"Uh, my truck?" Three words, at least it was an improvement.

He smiled at her again. "We'll drop it off at your house, if that's alright? Alice and Jasper can follow us there and then I was thinking, of course it's up to you, but you should probably leave a note for Chief Swan, so he doesn't get worried if we get back late. I'll give you my cell phone number to give him just in case… if you want."

"Wow." She was impressed. This kid obviously knew how to sneak out.

"What?" He seemed partially amused but also partially concerned.

She smiled, "you're very, um, thorough, aren't you? Do you do this often, steal innocent girls out of class to go see movies?"

His eyes were irresistible when he grinned like that. "Never, actually, but I like to make sure all my bases are covered nonetheless."

"Good." She hadn't even realized they were walking until he opened the door of her truck and offered his hand to help her in.

"Thanks." Even through her gloves, she could feel electricity running through her veins as he helped her into her truck and walked around to the other side to seat himself next to her.

She hesitated slightly as she put the key in the ignition, not wanting to scare him as her truck roared to life. Then again, she thought, everybody who lived within a 10 miles radius of Forks was more than familiar with her beast of a truck so it shouldn't take anyone by surprise. Still, she groaned slightly as she turned the key, alerting everyone within Forks High that Bella Swan had just left the building.

The red beast sounded even louder today that it ever had before, but Bella was sure that was just because she never had cause to feel self-conscious about her ancient truck. She was used to it but it would definitely be a deafening difference from the quiet purr of his Volvo. He laughed at her reaction, almost so low that she thought he hadn't meant for her to hear it. Even if he hadn't, his shaking would have given him away. She could see it out of the corner of her eye.

"Sorry, I know it's kind of loud."

"It's got" he paused, looking for the right word, "character?"

"Be nice." She had to remember not to try and look at him or they would go off the road.

The trip home was filled with occasional meaningless commentary about landmarks they passed on their way through town. When they pulled in the drive, Edward's silver Volvo was already there with Alice and Jasper waiting for them inside. Bella pulled the truck into its usual parking spot and went to go inside the house. She turned around to ask Edward for his number to leave for Charlie but he was already waiting there, hand extended, with a piece of paper that had seven numbers on it.

"Thorough."

"I'll wait for you here." He wasn't looking at her, he was staring oddly at a pile things Charlie had pulled out of the basement for her that was sitting on the porch.

Bella was happy for the few minutes she had to herself when she got inside the house. She needed to get better control of her breathing if she wanted to be able to make conversation tonight. She wanted to learn as much about this strange family as she could while she had the chance. Edward was still stubbornly refusing to explain the nearly miraculous things she had seen him do and even now she was getting the feeling that he was hiding something from her, something important. She hoped she'd get the chance to throw a couple of questions their way tonight and finally get some answers.

She left her note for Charlie with Edward's number, saying that she was going to Port Angeles with her new friend Alice Cullen and two of her brothers. Charlie wasn't ready for her to be running off to the movies with a boy. Bella hoped that she was a little more mature than her father on this point but the butterflies in her stomach were making her wonder if she was.

One way to find out, she thought, as she stepped outside and locked the door.

Edward was still looking at the pile of stuff on her porch, amused. She turned to see what Charlie had found. He knew she was going to the beach and he pulled out a few things he thought would be useful, a board she used in the ocean when she was younger and wet suit that hadn't fit her since she was 12. Of course, none of it actually would be used by her this weekend because nothing could entice her into the bitter March water but she appreciated his effort.

"I'm supposed to go to the beach tomorrow with some kids from school and Charlie thought I would want the stuff I used to take when I was 10," she explained, "and it was summer. He tries." She smiled fondly.

It looked like the thought of Bella surfing sounded just as humorous and improbable to him as it did to her. When they got in the car, he decided to pick up the subject again.

"So you're going to the beach tomorrow?" He asked very casually.

"Yeah, Mike Newton's been planning it for weeks." Bella swore she saw his hands tighten around the steering wheel. "A bunch of us are going. I'm not really stoked at the idea of a beach trip in March in Washington, but I guess there aren't many other options around here."

Inspiration hit. "Are you guys busy this weekend? You could come with us."

"Where are you going?" Edward was still trying to sound casual.

"To First Beach, on the La Push reservation."

The mood changed suddenly and for several long seconds nobody said anything.

Alice spoke first, breaking the tension. "That sounds like fun, Bella, but we already have plans. Edward and Jasper are going hiking with Emmett and our father tomorrow and I'm going shopping with Rose and our Mom in Olympia. A girl's day."

Bella has turned to look at her in the backseat as she spoke. Her heart sank, but she decided she shouldn't be surprised. She had heard that the Cullens often did things together in the outdoors on the weekends. She tried to not let her disappointment show.

"It's cool. Sounds like you guys will have a good time."

"Why do you have to go there?" Edward spoke this time. Bella couldn't put her finger on it, but she thought that he sounded aggravated.

"I don't know. Mike has some friends up there, I guess. He's been planning this whole thing, the rest of us are just along for the ride."

She watched him carefully. For a moment he looked very tense then, suddenly, the entire mood in the car changed. Everything went back to feeling very casual, calm.

Alice started talking about her expectations for the girls weekend and hardly allowed Bella the opportunity to pay attention to anything else. Edward kept his eyes forward on the road. Bella felt that he was still upset by something she had said earlier, but couldn't concentrate on figuring it out while Alice kept her attention.

Jasper sat quietly beside Alice, holding her hand and looking back and forth between the two girls. Mostly, though, his gaze was on Bella. She felt that he was looking for something and a part of her screamed that she should feel uncomfortable that he was looking at her this way. But she didn't. The whole trip she felt completely at ease.

In less time than she would have thought possible, they were in Port Angeles. Bella hadn't been paying attention to the clock, so she didn't know what time they left but she was sure they made it there faster than she ever had made the trip before. She made a mental note to try and pay better attention to the route they took home. It was obviously a shortcut.

Edward parked the car. They had about 45 minutes before the movie started, and he didn't know how to fill the time. Alice kept saying she and Jasper were going to give them some time by themselves and, as much as he wanted to spend time alone with Bella, he wasn't sure if it was the best idea at the moment. But, with Bella there, the only discussion they could have was Alice thinking about her plan and then announcing it as soon as the car stopped.

The beach plan upset him. It was true that he was planning on going out of town this weekend with Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper. They all needed to hunt, especially Edward even though he had done so more recently than the others. The stress of the situation was beginning to take its toll on him. The burn in his throat was getting worse and, now that they were spending time together, he didn't want to risk hurting her.

But Alice, Esme and Rose were not going to Olympia. They were staying behind to follow Bella and keep an eye on her. That was the problem. If Bella was going to La Push, then there was no way his family could follow her there without risking a war. While Alice had been chattering about Olympia, trying to distract Bella, he had been thinking of a way to get around it. He hadn't come up with anything. Carlisle would never support any plan that broke the treaty and none of Edward's plans honored the treaty. He thought about making Alice and Esme invite Bella to actually go shopping in Olympia, but if he was being honest with himself, he didn't want that, either.

He had used the remaining time in the car to reconcile himself to the idea that she would be unsupervised for awhile. It should be okay. The werewolves were long gone, so there should be no more harm to her there than there would be anywhere else. That was another problem, though. This girl seemed to find trouble everywhere.

So without his being able to protest at all, Alice pulled Jasper away towards a shop down the street she said she had been meaning to visit and Edward turned to ask if there was anything Bella wanted to look at in their free time.

She looked at him with curious eyes.

"Is everything okay?"

This was exactly why he didn't want Jasper and Alice to run off. Jasper hadn't only been controlling her mood, trying to keep her from getting too suspicious, he had been controlling Edward's too. As soon as First Beach was mentioned, Jasper realized that Edward's surveillance plans for the weekend were ruined and that it would upset him. Even though he had been trying to calm himself down, he apparently wasn't successful in hiding his concern once Jasper was gone. He would have to put a little more effort into it.

He tried to smile, "of course, why would you ask that?"

"You seemed kind of upset when I was talking about going to the beach. You still look like something is bugging you." Why did he constantly underestimate her perceptiveness? It was as if she saw right through him.

He decided to stick to as much truth as he could, hoping sincerity would throw her suspicion off track.

"It sounds like you are going to have a good time. Maybe I was just upset that I couldn't come with you." As in, couldn't or it would start a war.

"You can." She sounded irresistibly eager. He let that sink in for a moment. She wanted him to go with her. He couldn't deny the sensation it sent through his body. It helped him to get over some of his frustration.

"I really can't." He emphasized each word, but wanted to keep it from getting too serious again. She always got him to say things he didn't intend when it got that serious. "Besides, I don't think Mike Newton would appreciate your inviting me. I don't think he likes me very much."

"What makes you say that?"

Keep it close to the truth, he reminded himself. "I get the feeling he's upset that I have stolen your attention away from him in Biology."

She laughed. "Mike Newton," he loved the way she said his name, almost as if it were as distasteful to her as it was to him, "will have to learn to get over it. And you shouldn't let that stop you from coming, if you want."

Her eyes were wide as she tried to convince him to come. He tried reasoning with himself. Surely this was worth breaking a treaty for, if such a treaty was even still valid. But no, Carlisle would never allow it. He knew that Carlisle was right, even if it made him crazy to think of her spending a whole afternoon away from their protection. And he needed to hunt.

"I really need to go with my brothers this weekend, Bella, but I do wish I could go with you."

Before he realized what he was doing, he reached up and ran his fingers down her cheek. She closed her eyes as his fingers touched her skin and he could hear her pulse quicken. It was hot, made warmer by the blood that was rushing to her cheeks, making her blush. He let his hand drop.

"I'm sorry." He meant those words in so many ways.

"Don't be." She smiled at him.

They decided to spend their time walking around the shops that surrounded the theater looking at and talking about nothing in particular until it was time to meet up with Alice and Jasper for the movie. Edward was having such a pleasant time getting to know Bella outside the confines of school that he had almost forgotten the reason for their trip. That is, until they got inside.

As they were standing in line to give the attendant their tickets, a group of teenagers behind them were trying to fight their way to the front. Edward moved out of the way, deciding it was better to let them pass than try to argue with them. He was moving to nudge Bella out of the way when one of the boys slammed into her back and laughed.

Bella did not laugh. She did not look annoyed. She screamed in pain. He had slammed right into her shoulder.


	8. Unanswered

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight …or the Discovery Channel.**

____________________________________

Unanswered

Sam Uley was on a mission. Something strange was going on and he intended to find out what it was. The council didn't seem too concerned after he told them what he saw at the beach but Sam wasn't buying it. Obviously, they would prefer that she find other friends to fill her time with, Billy Black volunteered to send his son to try and distract her, but beyond that they heard nothing to alarm them. They preferred that he and Jared spend their time helping Paul.

Sam did not agree.

He knew that he was new to this life, to this strange hybrid existence and that the elders were wise, but they had never experienced the transformation and his instincts were screaming at him. He knew the bloodsuckers' scents like the back of his hand; he smelled it everywhere he went beyond the treaty line. He knew what the kids in town smelled like after they had been with them in school. He knew what the old people at the diner smelled like after their appointments to see the doctor. Bella Swan did not smell like that, she did not smell like anything he had ever smelled before. Something was not right with that girl and he was going to figure out what it was.

____________________________________

As they sat in the quiet theater, awaiting the start of a movie none of them seemed interested in, Bella tried to think over everything that had happened in the last five minutes. But she was having difficulty. The pain was back now. It had dulled throughout the day. Her trick of only using the one hand seemed to work until those punks slammed into her in line. Everything seemed to happen very fast after that.

Edward was instantly supporting her with his arm around her side while he yelled at the boys who had caused the chaos. She couldn't remember what he said, she was overwhelmed by the pain and the butterflies she felt from his holding her so close. She remembered Jasper and Alice stepping in between Edward and the boys and the manager coming over to escort the troublemakers out. That's when she stopped paying attention everyone else because that's when Edward turned to her and looked into her eyes.

His expression was difficult to classify. He was concerned, obviously because of the way she screamed, and he was also angry. But there was something else there in his dark eyes that she could not comprehend. She had never been this close to him before and was amazed that his face was even more perfectly smooth than it was from a distance.

"Bella?" He was anxious.

"I'm fine." She meant it, too, the pain was already starting to numb. "It just caught me off guard, that's all."

He looked absolutely heartbroken.

"I promise, I honestly don't know why I reacted that way. I usually don't scream like a girl." She tried to laugh it off but got the feeling that he wasn't buying it.

Edward, Alice and Jasper had talked about just leaving and forgetting the movie but Bella had been able to talk them into staying. They skipped class to see this movie so why should they return without doing so? Everyone seemed very reluctant to move forward and Bella felt awful about it. She had completely ruined their afternoon.

Now, sitting next to Edward with his sister and brother on the other side of him, something other than her shoulder was bothering Bella. It wasn't something she noticed until she thought back on what happened outside the theater. Of course Edward knew why her shoulder hurt, but Alice and Jasper seemed to know as well. That was surprising.

When they were trying to decide if they should just leave, the three of them started talking as if she wasn't even there. It was almost insulting. Edward seemed to want to leave immediately, 'before anymore damage was done'. He wanted to take her to see his father, the doctor. Alice and Jasper were hesitantly trying to talk him out of it, so low she could only hear that they were speaking, not what they were actually saying. That was when Bella decided to try and play off the pain and request that they stay for the movie and, though they all agreed, nobody seemed excited at the thought.

It just brought back Bella's suspicions about something going on that she wasn't aware of.

The lights began to fade as the previews began. Edward turned to look at her.

"Are you sure you'll be comfortable here?"

"Yes."

"I'm so sorry."

"How is this your fault?" His dark eyes hardened. He must be upset about not stopping them before they slammed into her. Or maybe it had something to do with what she felt he was keeping from her.

"You have no idea," was his only response as he looked away.

His response cemented the suspicions in Bella's mind. Edward was hiding something else.

"Exactly, I have no idea, but you seem to," she accused him, unsure of how he would respond.

He didn't. He turned to stare at the images flickering on the screen in front of him.

"Something is going on here, Edward, something that you're not telling me. Something about me. Don't you think I have a right to know?"

He looked at her again, his expression was pained.

"I do, Bella."

"I'm waiting."

"This just isn't… a good time."

"Then when is a good time?"

He hesitated, "later, I promise."

"I've heard that before," she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes like they always did when she got angry. "I haven't forgotten that you still owe me an explanation for the van incident."

Even though it was dark in the theater, she could see his face very clearly. At first he looked torn again, like he was fighting with himself over how to respond. Then he looked sincere.

"Bella I know that I haven't been the best friend to you in the explanations department, and please believe me when I say that it's not because I don't want you to know or because I think you don't deserve to know. Sometimes, it's just not my secret to tell. Can you understand that?"

She looked at him for a moment before she responded, shaking her head. "I want to believe you, but on both counts, I have been involved. Doesn't that make it my secret, too? I should be let in on my secret."

He looked at her for a long time. Minutes passed, she was sure of it.

"Okay." His tone sounded defeated, which made Bella's heart race. He was going to come clean. "But this really isn't a good time."

She was about to protest when he smiled apologetically. "The movie's starting."

With that, he turned to look at the screen and hardly moved from that position for the next 94 minutes. By the time the film was over, Bella couldn't even remember the title. It was an action movie, that was all she got out of her time there that afternoon. It was loud and there were a lot of explosions.

Everyone seemed less tense when the movie was over. The four of them walked silently out of the building. Because they had seen such an early showing, it was still light out. The difference from the dark theater hurt Bella's eyes. When they got to the car, Edward held her door open as she got it.

The ride home was also pretty quiet. Alice had asked if she felt better and if she'd enjoyed the movie. She gave short yeses to both. She wasn't in the mood for distracting small talk anymore. The only thing she wanted to hear was Edward's explanation for what was going lately and he seemed unwilling to speak with his sister and brother in the car. She had figured as much.

She paid no attention to the rest of the trip home. Edward never tried to speak to her and, after being cut off so unceremoniously before, Alice spent the rest of the trip talking to Jasper. Bella couldn't even remember about what. Before she knew it, they were back in Forks pulling into her driveway.

Charlie wasn't even home yet, but he probably would be any minute now. Edward had gotten out of the car and was walking her to the door.

"Let me guess, still not a good time." She wasn't accusing him. Her tone was soft, almost sad.

"Won't your father be home soon, should he see us here?"

He was right, of course. She sighed. "I know."

"I'll find a time. Soon. I really do promise." His eyes met hers and she could not doubt the sincerity in them.

"I believe you."

He went to turn but stopped himself. He was anxious again. "Do me a favor, if you wouldn't mind."

She was confused. "Sure, what is it?"

He half-smiled. "Tomorrow, at the beach, try to stay out of trouble. And," he struggled for a brief moment, "if anything else happens to your shoulder… or anything else strange in general, will you call me?"

She didn't know how to respond.

"My father will be with me, the doctor, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Sure, no problem. But I'm sure it will be okay. You really shouldn't worry about it as much as you do."

Without a word, he smiled, touched her cheek again and turned to go back to the car. The Volvo was barely out of sight when Charlie's police cruiser pulled in. Bella was still on the porch.

"Are you just getting home, kid?"

"Yeah, I was hanging out with," she remembered her note, "Alice Cullen. We were going to go to a movie in Port Angeles but we changed our minds and went to the library to work on some homework instead." That should cover the bases, she thought.

"Alice Cullen? Really? Well that's great. I hope you kids had fun." He seemed genuinely pleased as they entered the house together.

"It was certainly an interesting afternoon."

Bella dressed carefully for bed that night, not wanting to irritate her shoulder any more that day. Not that it mattered. It was always worse when she was thinking about it and she definitely couldn't stop thinking about it. How could she not? Thinking about it made her think about him and she couldn't make herself think about anything else after the day she had.

For the first time, she thought about the pain itself. It burned, to be sure, but she was starting to think that maybe her self-diagnosis was wrong before. This was not muscle pain, this was something else. She noticed that the pain was spreading but was stronger in the center. She remembered the time Renee had been bitten by a spider. The actually bite mark was red and painful at first but then the infection spread out like a pink disc around the original site making that skin tender as well.

Her stomach turned at the thought.

Bugs were creepy and her skin crawled at the thought of them crawling all over her. She had never seen a spider in the house but it wouldn't surprise her if there were bugs in this tiny house close to the woods.

She also remembered watching this special once about bloodsucking insects like bedbugs that secretly hide out in your room and come out at night to feed on your blood, often leaving infections behind. She shuttered at the thought as she walked over to the mirror.

The spider bite that Renee had was red and so were the images of bloodsucking bed bug bites she saw on the Discovery Channel. She carefully turned her shoulder towards the glass as she leaned in to look for evidence of an infection. To her surprise, nothing off color popped off her porcelain skin. All she could see was a small, white bump that looked like a scar.

It was the shape of a tiny crescent.


	9. Dawn

_Dawn_

"NO!" Bella screamed as she sat upright in bed. Her nightmare had pulled her out of a deep sleep.

The morning light was barely creeping into her room through the window. She opened her eyes and looked around, very stiff and still fully dressed. The battery on her iPod must have died sometime during the night because her headphones were still in her ears but there was no longer sound coming from them. It was early, the clock said 5:30 but she felt surprisingly well rested.

Amazed, she realized she had managed to sleep through the night without thinking about what happened at the beach. That was the plan. Sleep first, then process. As she made her way to the shower she began to let the previous day's events creep back into her consciousness.

Most of the day was a blur. Mike, Jessica and Angela were there along with some other kids from school but Bella hardly remembered them. The outing was pretty bland until the others showed up, the group of boys from the reservation. As she stepped into the shower and felt the steaming hot water rush over her body, her pulse raced at the memory of what she felt in her heart to be a truth she had learned the day before.

Edward Cullen was a vampire.

____________________________________

When Jacob Black first heard that a group of guys from the reservation were planning on going to meet up with some kids from Forks High who were hanging out at the beach he didn't have much interest in going. He had been spending all of his free time, which had been scarce between school and taking care of his dad now that both of his sisters were gone, working on his car. Since Billy was fishing with Harry Clearwater all day, this would be a rare opportunity for him to work uninterrupted for a few hours.

But Jacob knew he had been ignoring his friends lately and felt bad about that, so he agreed to go with them for a little while deciding that he could always sneak away early if he was bored to spend some time with his car.

He regretted his decision as soon as he opened the door to see who was waiting for him. His two best friends were there, Quil and Embry and a few more guys he regularly hung out with but with them were two that Jacob was not happy to see: Sam Uley and his cousin Jared. Sam and Jared were a few years older than he was and they used to be cool but lately they had stopped hanging out with the other kids on the reservation and pretty much only hung out with each other. And Emily. What a scandal that had been, but the shock was starting to wear off.

Oh well, he thought, it was too late to back out now. As they made their way to the beach he fell in step next to his friend Paul who seemed out of spirits.

"What's up man, not in the mood to hang with the locals?" Jacob teased.

Paul gave him a knowing look and nodded his head back towards the two who were walking behind them. "I was."

Jacob understood. Paul and Jared had been pretty close before Jared started spending all his time with Sam. He sighed, "I hear ya, bro."

Hearing that someone else wasn't happy about the apparently unexpected addition to the beach party, Paul seemed to loosen up a bit. He soon started talking about something else.

"My friend Mike said there were a few single ladies in the group he wanted me to get to know. You know it would kill my father if I were to start dating a girl from town." His smile was mischievous. Paul and his father actually got along pretty well but Paul loved to find any way he could to rake the old man. He just liked to argue.

Jacob laughed and they spent the rest of the short walk to the beach trying to imagine the verbal assault Paul would receive from his father if he met someone this afternoon. They were both in better spirits by the time they reached their destination.

There were fewer people than he had expected around the fire when they reached the group. After introductions were made they learned that about half the group, including Paul's friend Mike, had taken a short expedition to the tidal pools and would be back shortly.

Within minutes Jacob realized that Paul's search for a love to enrage his father would come up short. The girls that had stayed behind were interested only in themselves, huddling closer together than they were before as if they were afraid of the group of boys. Jacob thought about this for a second and thought it was actually pretty reasonable. The Quileute grew their boys pretty big and he bet they were intimidating to those who were not used to seeing them.

When the group from the pools got back Jacob was relieved to see that there were some people he kind of recognized. Maybe he would have someone to talk to now. One face in particular stood out to him as someone he recognized but could not place. She was a year or two older than he was and had long brown hair. She was beautiful but was obviously the kind of girl that had no idea of it.

Then it hit him. This was Chief Swan's daughter, Isabella, who had come back to live with him after her mom got remarried. He remembered playing with her when they were little kids. His sisters were like her only friends in Forks when she came to visit in the summer, they spent most of her time here together. She obviously did not recognize him, either because she did not remember him or because all the Quileute boys looked the same to outsiders.

Intrigued, he decided to try and make it a point to talk to her. When she introduced herself to him he reached out to shake her hand. Nobody else had exchanged such a formal greeting but he couldn't stop himself. Something made him want to touch her. Unfortunately, it also made her feel like she had to shake hands with the rest of the group. Most of the guys were delighted with this but Sam and Jared, rude as ever lately, seemed utterly disgusted at the act.

They all went back to the conversations they were having before the group joined them but Jacob wasn't talking to anyone. There was something about Chief Swan's daughter, Bella as she had introduced herself, that made him thoughtful. He wasn't paying attention to anything. It was Sam growling at her that broke him out of his reverie.

"The Cullens don't come here." He could practically taste the disdain that saturated the words.

Jacob hadn't heard the rest of the conversation that prompted the remark, but he was paying attention now. Charlie's daughter looked horror struck and confused. This was not good. The Quileute Cullen hatred was the reason for the current silence between his father and Chief Swan. Jacob thought his father was being ridiculous and the last thing he wanted was for Bella to think that everyone on the reservation was as close-minded as his stubborn father.

His eyes moved to Sam who had looked away from her back towards the settlement on the reservation. It looked to Jacob as if Sam's fists were shaking. Jared walked over to him and they started whispering together. The only time either looked back to the group was for Sam to send a murderous glance at Bella before he returned his attention to Jared.

Typical Sam, he thought. Sam had recently bought in to the prejudice that the older member s of the tribe held against the Cullens and would have no trouble sharing his disdain for them with anyone who would listen. It was also typical Sam because it was rude and angry, two traits that had characterized him for the last few months. Jacob groaned internally at the thought of what she and the other kids from Forks must think of them all.

Jacob turned to look at Paul and rolled his eyes. Paul had been quiet since the introductions, probably upset at the way Sam and Jared were treating his friends. He stopped when Paul did not return his look. Paul looked furious or sick, Jacob could not tell which. He was staring intently at the sand. Jacob leaned in, full of concern for his friend.

"Is everything alright? You don't look good, man."

"I don't feel well," Paul replied without even looking up, "like, suddenly."

"Dude, you look like you're going to be sick," Quil said from his spot across the fire.

Sam and Jared turned sharply towards them when he said it. Jacob noticed that everyone else around the fire was now watching them. Sam and Jared exchanged a look that Jacob did not understand before heading over to where Paul was sitting. Jacob could see that Paul definitely did not look good. He also noticed that his friend must have a fever because he was glistening with sweat but it wasn't warm out at all, even by the fire.

Jared reached them and leaned in close. "Quil and Jake are right, you don't look good. I was just getting ready to leave. I'll walk you home."

Paul didn't respond for a few seconds and then he merely nodded and stood up. He didn't look happy at the thought of leaving with Jared but he also seemed to want to get out of there as soon as possible. He looked to his friend, Mike, and apologized. "I don't know what's going on but I think I'm going to get home before I feel any worse."

Mike just nodded, wished him well and turned his attention back to the girl he had been talking to exclusively, Bella. He seemed more relieved that Sam and Jared intended to escort him home than he was concerned for Paul. Jared helped him up and, with Sam's help, all three left very quickly.

Jacob had thought about leaving with them but really wanted a chance to talk to Bella before she left, to see if she remembered him at all. It took a little while but he eventually got his chance when Mike had his attention diverted for a few minutes.

He moved to the open spot next to her and sat down.

"You don't remember me, do you?" He smiled at her.

She blushed, obviously embarrassed at the thought that she should know him. It was cute, he thought to himself. A few seconds later, her eyes lit up with recognition.

"Jacob Black."

She remembered him, barely, but asked more questions about his father and his sisters. It was a great way to break the ice and the two fell into very easy conversation after that. Jacob was glad he had decided to stay and try to talk to her, it was like they were old friends. They kind of were. She was very easy to talk to and obviously was enjoying their conversation. She talked about her move and he talked about his car. She was smiling more than he had seen her do all day.

After a few minutes the guy named Mike started staring daggers at him. It suddenly occurred to Jacob that there might be some substance to his possessiveness. What if they were together? One way to find out, he thought.

"Your boyfriend is upset that I took his place," he leaned in and said to her quietly, silently hoping he had guessed wrong on this one.

"Mike? Oh he is _not_ my boyfriend." She seemed annoyed that anyone could even think that. Jacob was relieved and saw this as a very good sign. She was quiet for a minute then she suggested that they walk down by the beach. Jacob could hardly speak his heart was beating so loudly in his chest. A beautiful girl just asked him to take a walk on the beach. This was the best day ever.

Naturally, the conversation turned to the incident with Sam. He should have guessed that she wouldn't want to breach the subject in front of everyone else. Jacob grunted at the mention of his name and tried to explain that she shouldn't take Sam so seriously.

"I don't know what's gotten into him, and Jared for that matter. They used to be pretty cool but lately…" he was looking at the ground, kicking the sand.

"It's ok, I'm getting used to that kind of reception." She sounded bitter. He looked up at her, puzzled and she smiled as she pretended to brush it aside with her hands. Her eyes lit up when she smiled like that, it was hard to remember what they had just been talking about.

"I was curious about one thing, though," she said sweetly.

"Anything," he responded. At this moment, he meant it. There was nothing he could deny her.

"What did he mean when he said that about the Cullens, that they don't come here?" Her eyes were wide and her cheeks slightly flushed.

"I hope you don't think we're all like Sam," he said, "when it comes to the Cullens, I mean."

"I know a lot of people don't like them but he just seemed so… hostile. I couldn't understand it and…" She didn't seem to want to finish.

"And what?"

"And I remember Charlie mentioning something about a lot of people here at the reservation who won't go to the hospital because of Dr. Cullen working there and I guess I was just wondering if there was a reason why."

"I'm not supposed to talk about it." The thought of breaching that subject made Jacob Black very uncomfortable.

"I promise I won't tell."

So that was it. She wanted to know why the Quileute don't like the Cullens. How could he explain it in a way that didn't make his father sound crazy but still made her understand? Of course, he didn't even understand, so there was probably little hope of making her understand.

But Jacob felt that she deserved an explanation, especially after how she had been treated. He knew his father believed the old legends and Jacob did appreciate the stories. They were a part of his heritage. He decided to try and make her see, even if it meant her thinking his father insane for the rest of her life. The problem was that he wasn't supposed to talk about it with anyone who wasn't Quileute. As she looked at him with eager curiosity in her eyes, he decided a lecture from his dad was well worth it to break the rules.

He took a deep breath and began.

"Bella, do you like scary stories?"

____________________________________

Rosalie waited until she heard the shower start and heard Bella get in before she slipped out from her hiding place under the bed and jumped out the window to run home. The sun would be coming up any minute and she needed to make it home before it got too bright. Bella woke up so suddenly that she hardly had time to steal out of sight. It was a close call that ended a very interesting evening. She was glad she had agreed to do it. She was, after all, attempting to be a better sport about the whole thing.

Before last night, Rosalie could not understand the fascination her family seemed to have with taking turns to watch Bella sleep. Watching a human sleep at night seemed like the least fun anyone could have. Ever. But she was wrong. The sleeptalking thing made it fascinating. After tonight, it also made it clear that Bella was starting to put the pieces together. It could not be coincidence that she was dreaming about vampires.

How she could have possibly guessed that on her own was beyond Rosalie's comprehension. The typical myths about vampires were so off the mark, especially when it came to going out in daylight, that she couldn't have figured it out on her own. Edward must have been telling her more than he was admitting to the rest of the family. What a hypocrite, she thought. He spent all his time talking about how he wishes every minute of every day that she never has to know. Edward wasn't usually so inconstant but he was a different person these days. Oh the things she would be saying to him when she got home.

She stopped cold as another possibility entered her mind. Bella was with on the puppy reservation yesterday, was it possible they knew that she was spending time with Edward and warned her off? If so, they had just violated the treaty that Carlisle had made so long ago and that they were so kind as to remind her family of upon their return to Forks.

That made much more sense than Edward lying to everyone. The wolves were always too meddlesome for her taste, taking their "sacred duties" a little more seriously than the situation called for. It was so annoying.

It also seemed to support a theory they had been throwing around lately regarding the wolves. More than once in the last few months, they had come across some weak but disgusting scent trails in town. Carlisle wanted to think that it was just a scent that stayed with the Quileute but she and Edward felt differently. They thought it was a sign that the pack was coming back. That would definitely complicate things.

But that wasn't the issue here. She started her run again, making it home in just a few minutes and found most of the family in the living room waiting for her return. Edward and Carlisle were making their way down from the study when she walked in the door. Edward already knew what she had to say, so she tried to avoid his eyes, knowing they would be full of pain.

"She was dreaming about vampires."

The room was silent for nearly a minute as everyone processed the information. Carlisle was the first to speak.

"Perhaps it is a coincidence."

Esme looked at her husband lovingly, as if she adored his naiveté but the rest of the room just laughed. Carlisle, rarely one to be offended, conceded.

"Or not. How could she have guessed that?"

Rosalie looked at Edward, wanting to know if he agreed with her thoughts on the matter. He nodded his agreement but did not move to speak. She filled them in on her wolf theory stopping before she got to the part about the return of the pack. Again, Carlisle was the first to speak.

"That seems like the most reasonable explanation. It _would_ put them in violation of the treaty," Emmett and Jasper leaned forward at this, seeming very excited at the thought of a treaty violation, "but then again, they haven't told her anything we wouldn't have eventually so I don't see the point in making an issue of it. We need to just focus on the fact that Bella knows about us and we need to decide how we are going to address that."

"Perhaps it's time to think about leaving," Esme suggested yet again.

Edward growled at her. "We are not leaving until we figure out if there will be any lasting effects of my colossal mistake."

"Alright." She wasn't offended. Edward growled at everyone these days.

"I think we should wait and see what she does with the information," Alice chimed in.

Jasper was quick to agree. "That makes the most sense. Maybe she won't believe what she heard. We don't want to offer more information until we're sure. Maybe she will believe them and will want nothing to do with us. In that case, we also don't want her to know more than the minimum. I think it's best to just wait until she starts asking us questions."

"And when she does, do we answer them?" Rosalie asked.

Everyone looked to Edward.

"Yes," he said, his eyes full of defeat, "it's time."

Again, nobody spoke. Rosalie figured everyone was sending their silent reassurance to Edward that everything would work out for the best but she was still thinking about the wolves. She decided to break the silence by bringing up her idea about the reemergence of the pack, seeing that Edward clearly wanted to be left to his own thoughts.

Emmett, Jasper and Carlisle were very interested in discussing the possibility of more werewolves at La Push while Edward sat quietly in the corner and Alice and Esme fell into their own conversation.

The sun was out; it was actually a beautiful day.

All night, Edward had been trying to think of a way to see her today. The thought of her being so far from his protection the day before was almost literally maddening. He wanted to be the one with her last night but he was overruled and Rosalie, of all people, was sent in his place. He spent his free time instead trying to get around the sunlight problem and find a way to see her. He knew he could run through the woods near her house and listen to what was going on inside, but that plan felt so… unsatisfying.

He had decided to call her, just to hear the sound of her voice, using the pretense that he was checking in on her after what happened in Port Angeles. It was still unsatisfying, but better than nothing. He resigned himself to prepare for another entire day without her company. Then Rosalie came running home. That's when he realized that he should have been preparing for a much longer separation.

While the rest of his family was now seated in the living room, talking about werewolves, Edward was lost in his own thoughts. One thought, actually.

Bella knew.

The first girl he had ever fallen in love with knew what he was. He would never look the same to her in her eyes. From now on she would look at him and see only one thing.

In the last week, since they had begun talking again, since he had finally admitted his feelings for her to himself, he had been deluding himself into thinking that she was starting to feel the same way. He thought he had seen evidence of it in her eyes when she looked at him in a way that made his silent heart flutter. Even if it wasn't a delusion, it was over now.

She knew what he was. She knew he was a monster.

The word echoed in his mind.

It was yet to be seen if she would connect what he was with what was happening to her. He could hear Carlisle's mind, trying to distract itself with talk of the Quileute pack, dwelling on this question. His father's thoughts intensified his own. Carlisle didn't think her capable of making the jump from vampire stories to vampire bite, but Edward had seen enough of her perceptiveness to know that she was certainly capable of much more than she was often given credit for. It was one of the things he loved about her most, the way she always surprised him.

She probably had figured it out, figured everything out and would soon be on the first plane back to Phoenix. Arizona was a place where the sun kept his kind far, far away.

He laughed darkly at himself. This was what he wanted for her all along, for her to develop a sense of self-preservation and run away from him. He was a truly sick creature, wanting something that was guaranteed to cause him so much pain.

He didn't know how long they had been sitting like that, all together in the living room. He was pretty sure it had been a few hours since Rosalie returned but no one had moved. They were trying to be supportive, he could see it in everyone's minds, thought they were all trying to distract themselves, knowing he wouldn't want them to worry about him.

He was thinking about them, thinking about the ways which his thoughtlessness had disrupted their lives yet again when he became aware of his cell phone buzzing in his pocket. Without even thinking, he drew in a sharp breath and looked at the caller ID.

He knew the number by heart, memorizing it last night after he had resolved to try calling her. Everyone was suddenly quiet, silently guessing at the source of the call. They were all right, of course.

Edward paused a moment before he picked up the phone and put it to his ear. This was it. It was almost physically painful.

"Good Morning, Bella."

____________________________________

**Author's Note:** So the last time I read New Moon it struck me that Jacob was fine that night at the movies until he touched Bella's scar from James. It was only after that happened while Mike was in the bathroom that Jacob started to feel ill himself. I thought that touching the cold scar is what finally awoke the wolf inside him. That's where my inspiration came from for parts of this chapter. Thanks again to pruningshears for helping me out and also to LAoR.

As always, please leave me your thoughts :)


	10. Onset

_Onset_

Sam watched from the far end of the street in horror as the leech jumped out the second story window of Chief Swan's house. It took every ounce of self control he had to not follow after her and force an explanation for her intrusion but he knew he didn't have time for that. Jared was standing watch outside Paul's house and, from the sound of what was going on inside, it was nearly time. He was dying to know what the blonde bloodsucker was doing in Bella's house but he also knew he had a tribal obligation to be there for Paul the first time he phased. No one had been there for him when it was his time and he would never allow any of his brothers to go through the same thing.

He growled in frustration as he turned away from the house and began his run back towards La Push. Through the consciousness he shared with Jared when they were both in their wolf forms he could hear Paul moaning and tossing in his bed, his breathing frantic and heavy. Sam picked up his pace, he was running at top speed now.

They didn't have much time, it could be any minute now.

_You need to get him out of there in case his family walks in. We need to get him into the woods, he'll be safest there._

As soon as Sam thought the command, Jared quickly phased back into his human form, as they had planned, and went to try and get Paul out of the house. He and Jared had been watching him for awhile now, determining that he would probably be the next, and last, member to join the pack. There have always been three, the elders told them.

As he ran, now alone in his consciousness, he shifted his thoughts to the Swan girl. Something was off with her, to be sure. He was also pretty sure that, whatever it was, the vampires were involved. He had thought as much initially, the way his skin crawled when she shook his hand and how she seemed so curious about the family. His fears were confirmed by what he just witnessed. He had heard the girl get in the shower which meant she was alive. For the moment, it would have to be enough but he felt torn leaving before he could make sure she hadn't been harmed.

In the end, his surveillance trip had yielded him little new information. Because of what was going on with Paul, he didn't have the time to look for more clues yet. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too long before Paul was useful, then between the three of them they should be able to figure this thing out.

As he approached the house where Paul lived with his family he looked up to the window that he knew belonged to his friend. The light was off but Sam was sure they had not left the house yet. He would be able to smell them if they had already ran off into the woods. He listened. They were coming down the stairs.

Sam didn't move from his place along the tree line that led into the forest that surrounded the reservation, he knew that Jared would be able to see him waiting there. As he watched them walk towards him, Sam could hear Jared trying to reassure Paul that everything was going to be ok. He still had no idea what was coming.

Paul stopped cold about a hundred feet from the forest line. He saw the giant wolf standing in the trees staring back at him. He looked frantically to Jared, who had started backing away from him slowly.

"What the hell is going on, man?"

"It's going to be okay, Paul, we're here to look after you." Jared was moving to position himself between Paul and his house, in case he tried to run back.

Paul was shaking in anger, his hands curled into fists at his side. He kept looking back and forth between his friend and the wolf in the forest. "We? What the hell is that supposed to…"

He never finished his thought. The rest of the sentence came out as nothing more than an angry growl.

____________________________________

_Bella was standing in the woods, it was dark. She knew she should be running from something but she didn't know what. "Bella we have to go, hurry," someone said, she recognized the voice as Mike Newton's. She looked to him in time to watch him run off ahead of her. _

_She didn't like feeling left behind but she wasn't alone for long. Jacob Black was now standing beside her. "It's going to be okay, Bella, I'll protect you." He said to her, but he was looking at something else, staring forward intently as he stepped in front of her and crouched down as if preparing to pounce on something. She instantly felt scared for him and then her eyes found what he was looking at in the dark. _

_Edward Cullen, his pale skin practically glowing in the darkness of the woods. His eyes were black tonight, dangerous, and he was walking towards them. He extended his hand and she knew the offer was meant for her. She looked back to Jacob but he was no longer there. In his place was the largest wolf she had ever seen, growling, also dangerous. _

_Edward stopped and smiled ruefully. He had two teeth now that were longer than the rest in his mouth. "It's too late for you to save her. She's already mine."_

_As he began to move forward again, she could feel the wolf bristle in anger at what he just heard. She felt an urge to step in between them; she wanted to reassure them both that everything would be okay. There was no need for this. Then the wolf moved. He lunged forward, teeth bared, aiming for the neck._

Bella shuttered at her memory of the dream that woke her so early this morning.

As she stepped out of the hot shower, Bella was trying to convince herself that the best way to come to terms with it was to keep repeating it to herself, matter-of-factly, over and over again.

_Edward Cullen is a vampire._

She got dressed.

_Edward Cullen is a vampire._

She checked herself in the mirror.

_Edward Cullen is a vampire._

She made herself breakfast.

_Edward Cullen is a vampire._

She went upstairs to her computer and clicked it on.

_Edward Cullen is a vampire._

She pulled up her a browser with her favorite search engine, typed in one word and took a deep breath.

"Let's see if Edward Cullen is a vampire," she said as she clicked the search button.

Bella spent most of the morning "researching" vampires. Most of the websites she was directed to were not very helpful, a blogger who claims to track vampires, a site dedicated to rating the hotness of vampires in different movies, an Anne Rice fan site. There was, however, some seemingly useful information. There was a paper some college professor wrote that talked about the evolution of the vampire myth through history. It was interesting but told her little more than the history of how humans told vampire stories, not about vampires themselves.

One site, _,_ was a whole vampire encyclopedia that broke down trait by trait different kinds and characteristics of vampires. That was really useful, even though Bella typically knew better than to trust information from a website that underwent unrestricted public editing.

She very consciously tried to keep her thoughts rational as she started to compare the information she was reading with the information she got from Jacob and that she had observed herself. There were definitely some things that matched.

Pale skin. Almost every description of vampires she read started with pale skin and Edward was pale, paler than her. It was one of the traits his whole family shared.

Speed. He obviously had to be fast, how else could he have gotten across the parking lot so fast that morning he saved her life?

Indestructible. She still vividly remembered the Edward shaped dent in Tyler's van.

Cold. Jacob had referred to the vampires as 'cold ones' when he was telling her his scary stories at the beach yesterday. Bella remembered the cold touch of his fingers as they trailed across her face. At the time she assumed it was the cold air that chilled them.

Immortal. If the Quileute stories were true, then this one would fit, too. Jacob said that Dr. Cullen had negotiated a treaty with his great-grandfather, a treaty that Jacob himself broke yesterday by talking to her.

She paused to think a moment about Jacob. He obviously did not believe a word of what he was telling her and she had pretended the same. He didn't know that she was taking him very seriously. She felt bad about using him as she did, worse about the way she tricked him it. It hurt because she actually did really like Jacob. He was the first person she met in Forks who seemed to get her; the first person it was easy and completely effortless to make conversation with. She hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for talking to her yesterday.

The thought brought her back to the task at hand. Her mind refused to be distracted any longer.

There was one problem that every vampire myth seemed to contradict. Vampires cannot come out during the day, but Edward and his family were at school nearly every day. Dr. Cullen was at the hospital in the morning when she first met him. Bella felt very conflicted on this point. On the one hand, she knew it was possible that myths were just stories and therefore sometimes got things wrong. But she also couldn't deny that there was a part of her that clung to this discrepancy tightly as a hope that her theory was wrong.

There were lots of reasons she wanted to prove herself wrong, but one more than any other. It was the last trait that all vampires seemed to share. The thing that made a vampire a vampire, something Jacob had also mentioned, something that always made her uneasy.

Blood.

As soon as the word entered her head she felt her heart start to race. Every hair on her body stood on end. She stood up immediately, knocking her desk chair over behind her, and pushed the power button on the computer. That was enough research for the day. The reality of what she had been trying to make her mind process came crashing down on her and she knew that, discrepancies or not, she could not deny it.

Edward Cullen was a vampire.

She couldn't sit still, her hands were shaking and she suddenly felt claustrophobic in her room. She ran downstairs and grabbed her coat, knowing only that she needed to get out of that house.

She wasn't thinking about what she was doing, only about the blood. Images of the beautiful boy with bronze hair kept flashing in her head. She didn't like to think of him as dangerous but in her head he looked it to her now. And yet he always still looked like an angel. An angel covered in blood. Every image was stained red.

She let her mind wander back to her dream. There had to be something she was missing. Even then, in the moment before the wolf moved, she felt anxious but never scared. She recognized the danger in his eyes but part of her knew that he was not a danger to her. He had never hurt her, never made her feel unsafe.

In fact, she would not be alive right now were it not for Edward Cullen. He saved her life that day. He kept her alive. Surely, he had to be different from the monsters she had just read about. And his father was a doctor, he healed people. He had healed her. She trembled for a moment at the thought of Dr. Cullen leaning in, hunger replacing the usual kindness in his eyes, towards an open wound on one of his patients before she quickly shut the image out of her mind.

No, he was good, they both were. She couldn't rationalize it but she just knew that it had to be true. Good vampires. Surely there were some. She had read about them this morning. They were scarce, but there definitely were stories about good vampires. Even Jacob had said that the Cullens were not supposed to be a threat to humans. That's why his great-grandfather had agreed to make peace with them. They were good vampires. Definitely good. The thought allowed her to calm back down and pay attention to where she was.

Bella realized she was on the road. She must have gotten in the truck and started driving in her attempt to get away from the house and her computer but she had no recollection of it. She was on the highway. She wasn't familiar enough with the road to know how far she had gone but she figured she had to be close to La Push. She pulled over and turned the engine off as she tried to get control of her breathing.

Edward Cullen is a vampire.

The phrase held more weight and meaning in her head than it had all morning. For the first time all day, she allowed herself to think forward. He is a vampire, so what did that mean for her?

She saw three options before her. The first was to run away or, at least, cut off all contact with him. She could start treating him like he had treated her, cold and distant. She could tell him they couldn't be friends like he kept telling her they shouldn't be.

She smiled to herself, his odd behavior suddenly becoming clearer. It was more evidence of his protecting her. _It's still better if we're not friends, but I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella_. She suddenly understood not only what that meant but also how that felt. She knew that, if she was right, they shouldn't be friends, but she also knew that option one was not actually an option at all. She was too invested in him, she couldn't just ignore him and keep her distance. If she was honest with herself, she knew that she craved his company too much. It didn't really change what she felt for him.

She laughed at herself. The fact that he was a vampire didn't really change how she felt about him. What was wrong with her?

The second option was to just pretend like she didn't know. Maybe she could just act like she was still clueless until she knew for sure she was right. But that wouldn't work either. She knew that she craved answers almost as much as she craved his company.

That left option three: confrontation. After all, he had promised her answers and, given what she thought she knew now, she could never resist the opportunity to get them. She imagined meeting him for the first time since her revelation. She believed that he would answer her honestly, it was hard to doubt the sincerity in his eyes that night at the theater.

The theater. She was suddenly aware again of the pain in her shoulder. Jacob's scary stories had driven thoughts of her ailment out of her head. She was so focused on what she had learned about Edward that she had completely forgotten about it. The pain in the center was still as intense as ever but the dull tingling that spread out from it was hardly noticeable, except that it still seemed to be spreading further.

Edward knew what was wrong with her shoulder, that was something he had promised to explain to her. Her imagination started to sort through the possibilities, possibilities she wouldn't have considered before today. Her thoughts weren't coherent. It was as if her consciousness didn't want anything to do with this question. Yet she kept going back to the idea of a bug bite.

She drew in a sharp breath. Bugs aren't the only creatures known for biting human beings. Vampires bite, too.

Bella sat there in cold numbness. She wasn't ready to accept that possibility. It contradicted the good vampire theory that she was clinging to with all that was left of her sanity. She pushed it out of her head. Edward would tell her what happened and it would explain everything. There had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation. The sickening feeling in her stomach told her that she was probably fooling herself, but her mind had accepted enough for one day, it wasn't ready to deal with this. Not yet.

She reached her hand down towards the key that was still sitting in the ignition. She didn't get the chance to turn it, though, before she felt the truck shake beneath her. Panicked, she looked into the rear view mirror.

In it, she saw a giant wolf with dark grey hair staring back at her, growling.

The poor girl was frozen with her hand on the key as the wolf jumped up on the roof, then the hood of her car. He turned slowly to look at her and Bella would have sworn that there was recognition in its eyes. They stared at each other for several seconds before the other one showed up.

The second wolf, bigger than the first came out of the woods from the right and lunged at the one perched on the hood of the truck. Bella could clearly see its teeth sink into the neck of the one staring at her as both tumbled off the vehicle and into the road. The injured wolf got up quickly and ran into the forest, the second following it closely behind.

That was when she noticed the third. It was standing directly in front of the truck looking right at her. She couldn't move, her eyes locked with those staring back at her. As quickly as it had appeared, though, the wolf left following the other two into the woods.

Enough, she thought.

She immediately turned the key, starting the engine on her truck. She made an illegal u-turn on the highway and started racing back towards Forks. This was too much. She needed answers and she needed them now. She grabbed her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the number she had saved to it just the day before.

She waited as the phone rang once, twice. She heard the line click over.

"Good morning, Bella" a velvety voice greeted her.

____________________________________

**Author's Note: **So if we're being honest I'm not super thrilled with my work on this chapter, but for now it's the best I could do at the moment. Maybe I'll go back and make changes later. As always, please let me know what you think.


	11. Catalyst

_Catalyst _

There was no moon tonight and but she had no trouble seeing how the pale white of all their skin contrasted from the blackness surrounding them. She was in the same clearing with Edward and his family, surrounded by woods on all sides but this time, Bella definitely was not dreaming.

Her pulse was racing. Everyone had stopped arguing and was standing very still, looking at the north end of the clearing. Waiting.

Judging by the sounds even she could hear, their other guests were getting closer. Uneasily, she guessed that they would break out of the woods any second now. Nobody, not even Alice, knew what would happen then.

There was going to be a choice, they would have to pick sides. Even Carlisle couldn't have negotiated a peace, not after what they had done. The chasm between them was too big, and it was too much against their nature.

It was inevitable.

One side was going to have to die and she shuddered at the thought that it would be Edward and his family that decide who. Bella took a deep breath and closed her eyes, silently hoping they would choose to fight with the right side… whichever that was.

____________________________________

Jacob sat in the kitchen looking at the three visitors who had come to see his father. Although Billy had a habit of sending Jacob away when anyone came by to seek his counsel, he asked his son to stay this evening.

"_The time will soon come, son, when you'll be called upon to assist the council. It's time you become more involved in the concerns of the tribe."_ That's what his father had said to him last night after he got back from the meeting and, he guessed, the reason for this new development of letting him stay now.

Jacob knew he was not the most perceptive guy on the planet, but he could tell that Sam was frustrated by his presence by the way he spoke slowly, as if annoyed that he had to choose his words very carefully. Of course, Jacob was just as unhappy to see Sam and Jared as they seemed to be to see him and he was confused as to why Paul had suddenly made up with the two of them.

"I have reason to believe that the… problem I spoke to you about last night is, uh, worse than I originally thought."

Billy didn't respond to Sam's statement for awhile. He sat quietly, deep in thought. "You found out something else?"

Sam growled a yes. Jacob had to stop himself from laughing out loud. Seriously, he thought, who growls in response to a question? He also wondered what could bring on this kind of reaction and if it had anything to do with why Billy wanted him to stick around tonight.

Paul spoke up. He, too, seemed angry but Jacob didn't see it as anything out of the ordinary, especially after the way he had looked at the beach the day before. "She skipped out of school early with three of them on Friday. My friend Mike told me. He was pretty salty about it."

Jacob was suddenly very interested. They had to be talking about Bella. Who else would Paul's friend Mike get upset about, especially after the way he was so possessive of her the day before? As for the other 'three of them', by Paul's tone and Sam's growling, he figured it could only be one thing. Why did everything always have to come back to Dr. Cullen and his family?

"I spoke to Charlie about that this morning," Billy said.

Jacob cringed. His father and Chief Swan had already had a big fight over the Cullens and he would have thought his dad knew better than to bring it up again. "He said that she went to the library to study with one of the females on Friday afternoon but he didn't say anything about leaving school early. That's interesting…"

"So what do we do?" Paul's eyes could have been on fire as he said it, they looked so enflamed. Jared reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder. Apparently they were getting along again, Jacob thought.

"Nothing in the… we can't keep them from talking to her. You are going to need proof of… something else."

Sam was growling again. "I gave you proof last night."

Jacob started to get up out of the chair he had been sitting in, concerned that Same was about to lash out at his dad.

Billy sighed and didn't seem at all concerned by the tone the young man was using with him. Jacob just shook his head, knowing that if he ever spoke to his or anyone else's father like that Billy would whip him so hard he wouldn't be able to sit down for a week. He had never wanted three people out of his sight faster

"Perhaps you could bring us something more… tangible. And continue to keep an eye on her. If what you said about her friends last night is true, we'll need to figure this out soon."

Sam was still upset but he seemed to understand Billy's cryptic response. At least it seemed cryptic to Jacob but, then again, so did the rest of the conversation. After they left, he asked his dad for an explanation but Billy simply said it would come out in time and left the house, something about needing to go talk to Harry Clearwater.

Before she left the day before, Jacob had managed to get Bella's phone number. He told her it was to see if she was home the next time Billy came to visit her dad so he could come too. She agreed without hesitation. He had spent the whole day being proud of the way he had pulled that one off and now had a legitimate reason to use it. Once his father was safely out of sight he ran to his room to grab the post-it she had given him and then ran back to the phone.

He couldn't explain it, but the idea of Sam 'keeping an eye' on Bella made his skin crawl and the look in his eyes when he left was dangerous. Something told him this was information she needed to know.

He didn't pretend to understand everything that he had overheard that evening, but he caught on to enough to know that Sam was planning something and that it involved Bella. After seeing the way he had treated her the day before at the beach and the way he had just acted, Jacob guessed it couldn't be good.

____________________________________

Even over the phone, the sound of his voice saying her name sent chills down Bella's spine. There was something calming about it. She knew he was dangerous yet he still had a way of making her feel safe. She let her foot off the accelerator and allowed the truck to slow down.

"Hi." She paused. She knew that this was the part where she was supposed to tell him why she was calling but suddenly it seemed ridiculous, accusing him of being a mythical creature. She couldn't think of how to start.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

She let out a short, sarcastic laugh thinking back over the events of a morning which began with the realization her lab partner is a vampire and very recently ended in nearly being attacked by three giant wolves.

"Honestly, Edward, I've been better."

He paused for what seemed like forever then took a deep breath. "I would image so." She could almost feel the pain in his voice.

That was not the response she had been anticipating. She was referring to her mental state, not her physical one but, yet again, he seemed to anticipate what she was feeling. He always seemed to know what was going on. She started to wonder if he was some kind of all-knowing, super vampire.

Thinking the word brought her back to the reason for her call. It was time to get some answers.

"I think it's time we had that talk."

"I think you're right."

"Not on the phone, though."

He paused.

"That might be… complicated. I am, um, somewhat confined to the house today." She had never known Edward to falter mid-sentence before and couldn't help but think he was hiding something yet again. But she was ready to talk about this now and nothing was stopping her.

"Fine, I'm already in my truck. Give me directions."

"What?" She could tell that he was not happy with the idea but Bella was determined to see him today.

"I'm coming to your house, Edward." There was another long pause.

"My _family_ is here with me, Bella." He said it very carefully, putting emphasis on each word.

"Is that a problem for you?"

He seemed completely thrown by her response and didn't respond for a few seconds. His next question was laced with bewilderment.

"That isn't a problem for you?" He asked it as if it ought to be a problem for her.

"No. After the morning I've had, it's not."

He was instantly concerned. "What happened, Bella? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, now. I promise. I'll explain when I get there."

She could tell that he did not want to drop the subject but he gave in anyway. "Okay."

He gave her directions to find the house, describing in detail how to find the driveway which was somewhat hidden. She felt surprisingly calm when she hung up the phone. Her heart wasn't even racing. Had she really accepted this? Was she really about to accuse Edward Cullen and his family of this to their faces?

If Bella was being honest with herself, she was excited to see him again. Up until she started putting the pieces together on the beach, she had been missing him. She couldn't shake her memories of their skin touching as he traced the lines of her face with his finger in Port Angeles or the way her knees melted when she looked into his eyes. Hearing his voice only strengthened those memories.

Vampire or not, she finally admitted to herself, she was in love with this boy.

The driveway was nowhere near as difficult to see as Edward had tried to make her think and she had no trouble finding the house. It was exquisite, a traditional home mixed with elements of modern architecture. It was also huge. She realized she should have expected this. They all drove really expensive cars, obviously they had money. She took the key out of her truck, which suddenly felt very out of place, and opened the door. When she looked up at the house again, she saw Edward standing on the porch.

This was it, she thought as she walked up the front stairs and met his gaze for the first time.

He always seemed to take her breath away when she looked at him, but it happened this time for a different reason. He looked positively stunning but also positively anguished. The tortured look he met her with was almost too much for her soul to bear. Despite everything, he still resembled an angel and angels should never have that kind of sorrow in their eyes, especially not angels she was in love with. It was heartbreaking.

Before she could stop, she found herself throwing her arms around his stunned body. He stood there, cold, motionless, for several seconds before he wrapped his arms around her, too, hesitantly at first then firmer. He rested his chin on the top of her head. They stood there, silently, holding each other while she worked up the courage to begin.

She squeezed him tighter and lifted her eyes to meet his. "I know."

Edward squeezed her tighter and then closed his eyes. He let out a breath he had been holding. "I know."


	12. House Call

_House Call_

As he pulled his father's car into the driveway, Jacob Black felt like something was not quite right. The house was dark but she had told him she would be waiting there to talk to him. He did not see the police cruiser in the driveway, either. Oh well, he thought, he was early. Jacob got out of the car and walked tentatively towards the house.

He was glad she had agreed to meet with him. While he was on the phone with her earlier it occurred to him that she might just blow off anything he has to say. If she really was friends with them, she had probably told them about the stories that were going around the reservation. He tried to make sure she knew that he didn't believe them, it was all so ridiculous, but he couldn't shake the feeling she was taking him seriously. He shouldn't have told her that Billy and Sam were upset because she was hanging out with the Cullens. He was worried that, after the phone call his father had made to hers earlier that day and the stories he had told her the day before, she wouldn't want anything to do with him. But she had agreed to see him, so that was better than nothing.

The creaking sound the first step made when his foot hit it made Jacob jump. Then he laughed. Sure, he thought, everything that had been going on lately with Paul and Sam and his father was a little weird, but not enough to make him this jittery. It was just a house dark house on a dark night. He was suddenly glad he had decided to come alone. Quil and Embry would never have let him live that down.

He reached the porch and decided to try knocking on the door on the off chance that she actually was there, waiting for him in the dark. His hand was about to make contact with the wood when a noise behind him made him stop. It was the same creaking that had just made him nearly jump out of his skin.

He turned around hoping to see that it was Bella but he was wrong. This was a woman he had never seen before. He was about to ask what she was doing there but she spoke first. Her voice and her eyes were mesmerizing.

"Your scent does not belong to this place, boy, but perhaps you can tell me where to find the ones who do?"

Jacob just stared at her, unsure of how to respond. His instincts told him this woman was dangerous but his other senses could not agree.

She was very attractive, one of the most beautiful women he had ever encountered but was dressed in some of the strangest clothing he had ever seen on a person. She was fair, her skin pale white and her hair was bright, almost flaming, red.

____________________________________

She was nervous to greet them, suddenly worried that his family might be furious with her for intruding on their secrecy. She walked into the living room hesitantly and was met with six pairs of eyes staring at her. Even if they weren't… in their presence she couldn't bring herself to use the word, even in her head, but even if they weren't what they were, the experience would have been unnerving. They looked just as uneasy as she felt.

She tried to smile. "Hi."

They paused for a second, as if unsure how they should respond. She couldn't help but feel that they were trying not to frighten her. Dr. Cullen then walked towards her, returning her smile.

"Hello Bella, nice to see you again."

He moved his hand up as if to shake hers then hesitated and dropped it back down to his side. She was determined to make sure they knew she was okay with this, with whatever this was, so she extended her own hand and stood there until he took it. His skin was just as cold and hard as Edward's.

He looked to the woman standing next to him, the one Bella had not seen before and had not paid attention to before this moment. She was stunning, like they all were, and there was a warmth in her eyes when she smiled that made Bella feel instantly comfortable around her. She, too, extended her hand.

"I'm Esme. It's so lovely to finally meet you, Bella."

Bella took it with pleasure but let out a gasp when she found herself being pulled from Edward's side and embraced instead by his adopted mother. She, much like her father, was not one of those people who made a habit of hugging people but she couldn't help but be touched by the friendly reception she was getting. She hadn't realized it until that moment, but Bella had been nervous that Edward's family wouldn't like her.

When Esme pulled away and returned to the other side of the room to stand next to her husband, Edward reintroduced her to Alice and Jasper. Alice was as bubbly as ever, quite the contrast to everyone else in the room, and Jasper smiled silently and nodded his head. He then introduced her to Rosalie and Emmett, the only two of his siblings she hadn't spoken to before. Emmett flashed her a big smile, making her a little nervous, and Rosalie smiled at her as well. Bella felt like the smile looked a little forced, but tried to convince herself that it was nothing.

Nobody spoke and she realized they were all looking at Edward. Edward was looking at Dr. Cullen.

"You'll have to ask her that." There was bitterness in his voice. Again, Bella felt a wave of sadness sweep over her. She wondered what could possibly be torturing this beautiful soul. She looked up at him standing next to her and returned her arm to the place it had formerly held around his waist.

"What's going on, Edward?"

He was still staring at the doctor. "My father thinks it would be more appropriate for you and I to speak by ourselves… but he wants to make sure you're comfortable with being left alone with me before they go."

Bella looked around the room at everyone looking anxiously at her before her eyes rested back on the boy she still had her arm around. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He finally turned to look at her, the tortured expression intensifying in his eyes. He was about to speak when his sister cut him off.

"It's all my fault, Bella, don't blame him," Alice said from across the room as she jumped up.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Edward scoffed.

Bella didn't see her move but suddenly Alice was standing right in front of her holding her free hand. Words began to pour out of her mouth at an alarming speed.

"It is. It's all my fault. I thought that what I saw was him losing control but it wasn't, he would never have hurt you if I hadn't startled him that night we were in your room. If you're going to be upset with someone be upset with me. He could never hurt you, Bella, you have to believe me, he loves you too much."

Bella couldn't move, couldn't breathe. The room was starting to spin around her as her overloaded mind tried to process everything she had just heard packed into those few, run together sentences. The beautiful faces of the people who had gathered around her began to fade. She thought she heard Edward's voice calling out to her but it sounded far away. Then all the faces and the voices faded into nothing and there was only blackness.

…

Edward was able to catch her before she hit the ground and lay her gently on the couch before he turned to face his sister. He had never, in nearly 40 years, been this upset with Alice, in fact the two of them had always been very close. Had she thought about those words at all before they came spilling out of her mouth, he would have stopped her but she didn't. She spoke without thinking and now Bella was unconscious.

The day was never going to go well. Bella knew what he was and had come over to accuse him of it to his face. It was never going to be a nice, pleasant Sunday afternoon at home. But… when she embraced him on the porch and left her arm around his waist he had allowed himself to hope, selfishly hope that maybe she would be able to see something inside him worthy of her affection.

Not anymore, thanks to Alice. Not only had she blurted out that they had been creeping around in her room at night but also that he loved her. She had only just discovered that they were vampires and now she learned they were peeping toms as well. This was so out of character for Alice, she was usually much more controlled and guarded than this.

Jasper moved to place himself in front of his wife, feeling the anger that was rolling off of Edward. The mood was tense and nobody spoke. That, of course, didn't mean Edward couldn't hear them.

_Back off, Edward, she thought she was helping you. I'm not kidding, you need to calm down._

_I am so sorry Edward, I just had to let her know the truth. It really was all my fault. I know you don't think that but it was._

_Oh this is not getting off to a great start._

Carlisle expressed his thoughts out loud in an attempt to break the tension. "Edward she just got overwhelmed and forgot to breathe. Look, she's already moving and will probably come out of it soon. I think the rest of us should be out of the room when she wakes up."

Hearing his father's diagnosis broke him out of his trance and he turned his attention back to the girl on the couch. One by one his family left to go upstairs to their rooms. They were getting out of the room, not out of the house, just in case, but he was happy for them to be as far gone as they could be. He tried to block out their silent reassurances and focus on Bella.

As he reached a finger out to move her hair out of her face, he watched her eyes flutter open. She had been out less than 30 seconds, so he knew she would be fine but that didn't make him feel any better about the whole situation. They both smiled tentatively when their eyes met.

"How are you feeling?"

She gasped and sat up. "What happened?"

"You fainted."

As soon as he said it, something miraculous happened. She buried her face in her hands but not before he saw the blood that started rushing to her cheeks. She was blushing. If possible, it made her more beautiful than she already was and undoubtedly sweetened her already potent scent. He was about to apologize for Alice's outburst and explain what she meant but he couldn't find the words.

"Oh no… that is so embarrassing," she groaned.

He had been expecting her to be angry or horrified when she woke up, not embarrassed.

"Bella, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

She still had her hands over her eyes but she moved her fingers to the side slightly so she could see him.

"In front of your whole family?"

He couldn't help but smile. She never reacted the way he expected her to. On this of all days, she was worried she had embarrassed herself by fainting in front of his family.

She took both his smile and his silence as an affirmation. She groaned and hid her eyes again. As he sat down on the couch next to her, he had to laugh.

"It's not funny." Edward tried to stop laughing but it wasn't working.

"Stop laughing." The whining added to the pouting sent him over the edge.

"I'm sorry but it's hilarious, you pouting like that. It looks a teenage temper tantrum one would see on a bad network sitcom."

Her hands and her jaw dropped simultaneously as she stared at him wide eyed. At first he was worried he had offended her but then he could see the sides of her mouth pulling up into a smile.

"You even stuck your bottom lip out." He laughed again, even harder.

That was it. She lost it. Edward was completely enchanted by everything about her when she was laughing. The way her eyes squeezed shut, the wrinkles it made on her forehead, the left hand she pushed into her torso, it all captivated him.

As the laughter faded into chuckles their eyes met. She bit her bottom lip and he could tell that it was time to start the conversation she had come here to have.

"How did you figure it out?"

"Well… I didn't guess on my own." Rosalie was right, he thought. From upstairs, he heard his family stop what they were doing and sit very still. They were listening, too.

"I figured as much." He tried to keep his voice soft, though the thought of the Quileute trying to warn her away made him less than enthusiastic about how much truth there was in the information she received.

She hesitated, as if she didn't want to continue.

"Were the Quileute trying to warn you to stay away from us?"

She tilted her head to the side, her eyes full of confusion. "What? No."

"But they were the ones who told you?"

"Well, I mean, Jacob told me."

Edward, and the rest of his family were now the ones who were confused.

"Jacob is an old family friend. I used to go spend time with them in the summer when I came here to visit Charlie. He and Jake's dad, Billy, are really close."

Edward felt a knot in his stomach. "Billy _Black_?"

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"We're acquainted." He knew it came out sounding surly but he couldn't help it. Billy Black had been on the 'welcome' committee the tribe sent to them upon their return to Forks. Being able to hear inside his head, Edward knew his sentiments were as far away from welcoming as one could get.

At first, she looked at him as if she wanted to ask more questions but then she appeared to change her mind. She had apparently noticed his reaction to the name.

"Anyway, so I was asking Jacob why the tribe doesn't like your family and he told me it goes back to these old stories about…" She trailed off and looked back at the floor.

She couldn't say the word. He could hardly blame her, he couldn't bring himself to use it most of the time.

"About… vampires?" He decided to help her finish the thought.

They looked at each other, each trying to gauge the other's reaction. She nodded. So did he.

"So they're true, the stories Jacob told me?"

"I don't know what he told you." Edward could hear Carlisle's disapproval at his questioning of the integrity of the Quileute. Carlisle preferred to trust that people typically told the truth until there was evidence that they didn't. Though Edward usually sided with his father, he preferred to take the side of Emmett this time around, who was thinking that you can't trust treaty breaking werewolves to tell the truth about vampires.

"Just what you were, how you were their enemies and that they made a treaty with your dad because you're not supposed to be dangerous to humans."

He was surprised, they all were, by the accuracy of the information she received.

"So they mentioned the treaty?"

"Yeah Jacob joked that he broke it by telling me… Oh but he doesn't believe it, though." Edward started to wonder if she, too, could read minds because they all had been thinking the same exact thing. The Quileute broke the treaty.

"What?"

"Jacob, he doesn't believe any of the stuff he told me. He thinks it's all a bunch of tribal legend. I hope you're not upset with him." Edward thought about it for a second and decided to side with Carlisle this time. Of course the young ones wouldn't believe in the old stories, especially if the wolves were gone from the tribe. He actually thought he might owe the boy a favor. Bella finding out on her own spared him the horror of watching her hear him confess it himself.

"I'm sure he meant no harm."

Bella seemed relieved. She settled back more comfortably into the couch. "So tell me everything I didn't learn on the internet this morning."

He could hear Emmett and Jasper laughing upstairs at the blunt request. Once again, he couldn't help but smile himself. This was not the way he had foreseen this conversation going. She seemed almost perfectly at ease with the idea and with being around his family. Most people felt a natural aversion to their presence, their bodies sensing a danger their minds were unable to perceive. Bella had no such alarm and it was surprisingly refreshing. Her comfort began to rub off on him.

He started to talk about all the things the myths got right and the things they got wrong. They talked about the reason why he can't go out in the sun, about his special gift, its newfound limitations and about how they came to be in Forks this time around. They even had the uncomfortable conversation about the Cullen diet, a conversation Bella absorbed as if it were a no different from a Biology lecture. She was attentive and asked questions any time she wanted more information. From time to time he could hear her heart rate start to pick up and he was worried that he had finally said something that would scare her off but she never showed anxiety in her face.

He had never spoken so candidly about his nature before with a human, with anyone who wasn't a member of his family. At first he was nervous, those nerves being fed by the anxious thoughts of his parents and sibling listening and reacting to the answers he gave to her questions. But after awhile all seven of them began to ease up and appreciate the eager curiosity of their guest.

Bella was fascinated with what she was learning. It all made sense, she thought, if she would have ever taken time to think about before now. As he talked about his indestructible immortality, his 'vegetarian' diet and his mind reading ability she tried her best to make sure her reactions showed him that she was accepting of it all. She honestly wasn't horrified by anything she heard, although the idea of sitting next to a mind reader made her nervous (she felt better after he assured her he couldn't read her mind), but she still was consciously trying to keep her reactions under control.

There were two reasons for this. The first was that Bella knew that a more uncomfortable conversation was ahead of them, one that would probably kill the nonchalant, easy going mood she had been trying to create with him. But she knew it was a conversation they needed to have. She wanted to find out two things today and, at this point, she was only halfway through her list.

The second was that by concentrating on her reactions, she was keeping herself from processing something she had heard his sister say before she passed out. It was the thing that pushed her over the edge, that made her forget to breathe and pass out. Alice said that he couldn't have hurt her because he loved her too much. Her pulse started to race every time she thought about it which caused her to immediately attempt to put it away in her memory. It had to be a mistake, because no one this handsome and charming, whatever he was, could ever care for her the way she did for him.

As the conversation began to lull, she decided it had to be now. Any more silence and she was afraid she would blurt out something embarrassing concerning reason number two that she would regret for the rest of her life. They were still sitting next to each other on the couch. She reached for his hand and placed it in hers. She almost forgot what she wanted to say when he covered the exposed top of her hand with his free one.

"Edward?"

She looked at him and could tell that he knew what was coming. Something in his expression screamed defeat, as if an inevitable end had just been reached.

"What happened to my shoulder?"

He took a deep breath and began, his voice suddenly pained. "Despite what you may have heard to the contrary earlier this afternoon, that was my fault."

She had been expecting this. She figured the Alice outburst has something to do with what was happening to her shoulder and that Edward would blame himself, whatever it was.

"Go ahead."

"It's probably going to sound very strange." He was definitely hesitant to continue.

"Edward you just told me that you can read minds, that your sister can see the future and that your whole family doesn't ever sleep. Can it really get any stranger?"

"Well, perhaps not stranger but certainly more disturbing." Angry Edward was back, as she had predicted. She immediately regretted her decision to ask about it, but she knew he wouldn't let her drop it now.

"I think I can handle it."

"I had to see you. I was out running and I don't even remember making the decision to go there but eventually I found myself at your house. It was about midnight." Bella could feel her heartbeat quicken and knew, from what he had told her earlier, that he could hear it speed up as well.

"I…" He stopped, obviously upset at the thought of continuing.

"Go ahead, it's ok." Alice had said they were in her room, she was prepared for this.

"I climbed up to a window on the second floor to look inside and it turned out to be your window. I couldn't keep from looking in. You were asleep. I told myself it was to make sure you were okay and I was about to leave but then…"

Her breathing was starting to increase, too, though she was trying desperately to keep it under control.

"Then?"

"Then you spoke."

"Oh no." Bella was wondering how much more embarrassing this day could get for her. Her sleep talking was the reason she never spent the night at friends' houses growing up.

"I was so intrigued, listening to the things you were saying unconsciously in your dreams. You're the only person whose thoughts I have never been able to hear. It was like a way to see what you were thinking about without your edits. But… I didn't want anyone to see me hanging outside your window so I opened it up and went inside." By the time he finished his eyes were on the floor, as if he couldn't bring himself to look at her.

Bella knew she should think this was creepy. He climbed into her bedroom at night while she was sleeping to listen to her sleep talk. But she wasn't freaked out, she was flattered. She never thought herself capable of exciting the interest of someone like Edward Cullen, someone who was brilliant, gorgeous and good at everything. He seemed to be just as fascinated with her as she was with him. It was comforting, not creepy.

He was still looking at the floor.

"What happened next?" He waited a moment before continuing and returned his eyes to hers.

"You said my name. At first I thought you had woken up but you were still asleep. You were dreaming about me, you wanted me to stay with you. It wasn't even a nightmare…" She could barely hear the end of the sentence, he said it so softly. She remembered the dream.

"You couldn't make up your mind."

He looked at her, puzzled.

"In the dream, you couldn't make up your mind if we were going to be friends or not and I was trying to convince you that we could be. I didn't want you to stop talking to me and ignoring me again. I still don't." She reached for his hand again but he pulled it away.

"Perhaps you should withhold that judgment. I'm not finished yet."

"Alright, then, go on." She was pretty sure there was nothing he could add to this story that would change her mind.

"It was overwhelming, hearing that someone like you would dream about me in her sleep. I felt… a need to be near you. I…" Now it was his turn to bury his head in his hands. "I climbed into your bed to lie down next to you and kissed your shoulder."

Bella wasn't trying to control her breathing or her heartbeat anymore and both were speeding up. So were her thoughts. They were flying around her head creating an almost overwhelming buzz. She tried to block them out but it wasn't working very well.

"Go on."

"Alice had a vision of my being there and saw me lean in towards you. She thought I was about to lose control and attack you. She ran to your house, with everyone else close behind, to try and stop me. She startled me. That's when it happened."

"When what happened?"

He couldn't answer. His hands were still covering his face.

"Edward, did you bite me?" She could see he was miserable but she needed him to tell her.

He didn't say anything but the look in his eyes when he raised them from the floor told her all she needed to know. She had been bitten by a vampire.

For the second time that day, Bella felt like she could pass out.


	13. Tainted

**Author's Note: **I love that so many of you keep taking the time to tell me what you think, even if it is only to complain about a cliffhanger :) I promise to work on that, btw…

____________________________________

_Tainted_

The cool night air whipped across Billy Black's face as Seth Clearwater helped him back home. Seth chattered on about how his father was taking them to the Mariner's home opener in a few weeks but Billy was not paying attention. He was perturbed, trying to shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Of course he was worried about the Swan girl. Charlie was one of his best friends in the world and her new friends were certainly not what he would hope for her. It disturbed him the way they paid attention to her in a way they never did to anyone else in town before. The fact was certainly troubling, as Sam kept reminding them, but it was not the source of his apprehension. He trusted Sam and the boys to keep an eye on her now that Paul was under control.

When they reached the house, Seth helped him up onto the porch and through the front door before turning to run back home. Billy wheeled himself into the living room and turned on the light but not, as he usually did, the television. This problem had been weighing on his mind for days now and he decided to use the silence to sort out.

He was shocked yesterday to learn that Paul had become the third. Other members of the council, as well as Sam and Jared, had been predicting it for weeks, but Billy had never really believed it could be true. Yes, he had started growing, which was usually a sign, but so did a lot of boys his age. He was moody, but then again he had been as far back as Billy could remember. He was the average age, but was not necessarily an indicator. Billy's own grandfather was only 15 when he became the alpha in his time.

That right there was the source of his confusion. He had never believed that it was going to be Paul who completed the pack because he was certain that it would be his own son, instead. Jacob was a direct descendent of Ephraim Black, the last alpha the tribe had. Yes, he was a few years younger than Sam and Jared but he had the strongest blood ties to the last pack. Now the three were chosen and Jacob had not changed. It went against everything Billy had thought he understood about the line of succession. There were never more than three since the very beginning, and certainly many candidates to choose from this time around, but Jacob was one he never questioned. Even of his cousins he was the most likely choice. Jacob came from an unbroken, untainted line of Black men, Billy himself having only sisters as did his father. It made no sense, Jacob not being chosen for this pack.

A howl in the distance broke his concentration, one long note followed by two short ones. It was the alarm they had discussed at the last council meeting to give warning to the tribe if the pack sensed an imminent danger. Several seconds later the phone rang. As Billy made his way across the room to answer it, he couldn't help but wonder where his son had gone.

____________________________________

"Bella, you need to breathe."

He was inches from her face, hands on her shoulders already prepared to support her if her knees gave out again. It was what she needed to hear to bring her back. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself again by fainting… again. She took several deep breaths before attempting a half smile to let him know the crisis had been averted.

She heard soft footsteps on the stairs and looked up. Dr. Cullen and his wife were coming down, their expressions full of concern. Edward's eyes never left her.

"Is everything alright, Edward?" He was whispering, so low Bella was almost unsure she had heard him. Edward was still looking at her and did not respond.

She decided to answer for him. "Everything is fine, I almost forgot to breathe again but I'm okay now."

Everyone stopped and exchanged a look that Bella knew meant they were all thinking the same thing, something they knew and she did not.

"What? What's going on now?" She looked back and forth at all three of them, one at a time. Only Dr. Cullen returned her gaze.

"You have very good hearing, Bella," he said.

Edward's expression changed slightly to one she was becoming very used to. It was the same look he gave her every afternoon when they sat next to each other in class and he asked how she was feeling. It was anxiety, the anxiety he always seemed to have for her lately, mixed with what she now understood to be guilt. He had been asking because he knew what happened, because he was the cause of what happened. Suddenly all of his strange behavior to her this past week at school made perfect sense.

He was checking up on her, trying to make sure she was… but she couldn't finish the thought. She had no idea what he should be checking the progress of. She had been bitten by a vampire and her internet research had told her that she should now be one. But Bella was certain she was not a vampire, especially since Edward had clarified exactly what one was. She still got hungry for food, was still clumsy as ever, did not sparkle in the sun.

As she sat there as confused as ever, Dr. Cullen took a seat in the chair next to the couch. His wife sat next to him on the arm and Bella noticed that they were holding hands. She reached out to grab Edward's, who had moved to regain his place next to her on the couch but then withdrew it. He was not looking at her anymore but staring intently at the floor with an elbow on each knee holding the back of his head in his hands, his fingers gripping at his bronze hair.

"Let me explain what happened after Edward's teeth cut your skin."

If Bella was being honest with herself, hearing Dr. Cullen describe the 'becoming a vampire' process was the most fascinating thing she had learned all day. He began by talking about venom and about his own transformation, as he called it. His descriptions were like Edward's, very clinical, at times she felt like she ought to be taking notes for fear there might be a test afterwards. But in a strange way he made sense. She perfectly understood what he was trying to explain to her.

What she didn't understand was how it related to her. She hadn't experienced anything like what he was describing. It sounded awful, buried under potatoes while writhing in excruciating pain for three days. Her shoulder burned slightly but nothing like what he, what they all, went through. He said it was the result of a bite and Bella now knew she had been bitten, but that was where the similarities ended.

When he got to the part where he, Edward and Emmett were all standing in her room as Edward began to drink her blood (she shivered for the first time since she arrived at their house) in an attempt to remove the spreading venom from her system the mood changed.

She could feel Edward tense up beside her. He hadn't moved his eyes from the floor, he hadn't moved at all. Again, she felt an urge to comfort him but didn't know how. Dr. Cullen kept her attention most of the time with his narrative but she kept looking to the side to check on him. It was strange, though, because every time she broke off to throw a concerned glance at Edward she also saw his mother. Her smile was still kind but there was also a happiness in her eyes that seemed out of place in this suddenly heavy conversation.

He finished by explaining that they left her to sleep and went home to discuss how they were going to make sure there was no lasting effect of what happened. Then he paused, as if unsure of how to go on. Relief began to sweep over her body. She had learned enough to understand that, if Edward had removed the venom from her system, she was going to be fine. Venom made vampires and caused excruciating pain and she didn't have any of that.

But relief was soon replaced with something else, anger.

Dr. Cullen was looking at Edward but not speaking. Bella assumed he was communicating something only Edward's 'special' hearing could grasp.

It made her upset. They had promised to explain everything but were still obviously keeping secrets. She hated that it bothered her, because as much as her curiosity burned within her at times, she really didn't believe in prying. People had a habit of opening up when they wanted to and keeping it in when they didn't. Everyone had a right to keep things to themselves, she had always believed that.

But this was different. This involved her, her life, her health. They had done this to her. They owed her an explanation, a full and complete one, one that left nothing out. They owed it to her the moment it happened and each day that passed without it made the whole business more difficult to understand. What could they possibly still have to hide?

She stood up abruptly and walked across the room so she could turn and see all three of them at the same time. She crossed her arms in front of her and planted a foot into the ground on either side.

"Obviously I'm not thrashing around in unbearable pain, and haven't been for any of the last five days."

Edward looked up for the first time. He reminded her of a child expecting a severe punishment, one he knows he deserves. "No."

"So I am _not_ becoming a vampire. That should be the end of the story… yet I can't shake the feeling there's something more you're not telling me." She had been trying to remain firm in an attempt to force them to keep talking. But, as was becoming a consistent problem that day, the pain in Edward's face was too much for her to keep her composure. She softened immediately, exhaling as she dropped her arms to her side and pulling at the pockets of her jeans with her thumbs.

"Edward you can tell me anything."

He was silent for several seconds before responding. It was obviously difficult for him. Bella was starting to get upset with herself, too. Her impatience and curiosity were causing him to sit there in agony. She didn't like to see him this upset. He would have told her in time, when he was ready.

"You are not thrashing around in unbearable pain, Bella, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are not becoming a vampire," he said.

That was a response she was not prepared for and she froze in place. They waited patiently for her to process it but it didn't make sense with anything else she had heard that day. She thought she understood. First you get bitten, then you suffer three days of agonizing pain and then you're a vampire. Vampires are cold, indestructible, and have color changing eyes. Outside of her pale skin, which looked tan next to theirs, she wasn't anything like them.

"But…" she stammered, "you just said…"

"All we know about the process has come from our own experiences," Dr. Cullen explained. "No one in this family has had an experience like yours and we have never before tried to remove venom from blood after it has been tainted. At the time we were fairly certain we got it all but… but we now have reason to believe that we didn't."

Nothing in his explanation relieved her confusion. Everything else had made perfect sense. Vampires, blood, venom, all of it she had processed with ease. This was something wholly different, something her mind was not ready for but was about to be forced into accepting. The fire in her shoulder had never felt more intense.

"What do you mean by 'reason to believe'?"

For the second time in his life, Edward was experiencing true torture. The first had, of course, been his own transformation, a transformation that made him the monster he now was. That experience was physically painful, the most painful of his life by far, but the emotional torture he was enduring this afternoon at times hurt just as bad.

She was amazing. He still could hardly believe the way that she, just earlier that afternoon, had sat there asking questions about him and his family and what they were with such ease. He had envisioned that conversation over and over again in his head a thousand times and never had he seen it play out that way. She accepted that he could read minds as if he had told her he liked to play ice hockey. She didn't shiver or run away when he told her that his diet consisted entirely of medium to large game. She laughed when he stuck his hand into the sun rays that were shining through the South windows and lit up the room with his luminescent skin.

But that was before she knew what he had done. She was obviously not taking this news with the same ease she had shown earlier. She was probably so repelled at the thought of what she might become that she would bolt as soon as she could get away politely and it was entirely his fault. At least, he understood, that meant that he owed it to her to explain everything as well as he could before she ran off. She had just asked a question and he knew it was he, not his father, who ought to answer it.

"Carlisle and I were doing some research on the subject and we came across something that we think would explain what is happening to you."

She cut him off. "Nothing is happening to me, Edward, I'm fine."

"No, Bella, if you were fine you wouldn't have started screaming when those imbeciles at the movies ran into you. You wouldn't _still_ be avoiding using that shoulder."

She swallowed.

"My shoulder is getting better." Even she didn't sound like she believed it.

"I've been watching you do it all day." He knew he had barely whispered it and it pained him to know that she could hear him clearly anyway.

She didn't respond, surrender in her eyes. He tried to keep his voice as calm and soothing as possible, so as not to scare her away before she understood everything. "But those aren't the only symptoms you've been showing."

She didn't try to argue with him this time so after a glance at Carlisle, who nodded that he ought to go on, Edward continued.

"You have also been experiencing a hypersensitivity to light and sound that, we believe, is evidence you are beginning to take on some of our other unique qualities. You should not have been able to hear or understand the question Carlisle asked me when he came downstairs. Normal human ears would not have picked that up."

She continued to stare forward but was shaking her head back and forth, as if trying to force herself into denial. He stood up and walked over to her one hand out. He was surprised that she didn't recoil at his touch when he grabbed her hand and led her back to the couch. As he began to speak their fingers were still intertwined. It made him feel peaceful in a strange way.

"Carlisle's library is full of books, some new but most very old, about our kind. As he and I were pouring through them looking for answers we came across a one that neither of us had read before. It was a memoir of a vampire who served in the court of the Romanians back in the time when they ruled over many of our kind. He developed a conscience, as we call it, an aversion to taking human life. Rather than sustain himself by feeding on animals, as we have chosen to do, he instead decided to experiment with ways to drink from but not kill humans."

He paused to check her progress. Her heart rate had slowed and she was breathing more steadily now, obviously somewhat caught up in the tale. Carlisle silently promised to keep monitoring her.

"It didn't go well at first. One of two things happened every time he tried to feed. He either let the bloodlust take over and he killed them or he was able to stop himself but had to kill them eventually because their blood became contaminated and they began to go through the change. At the time, the Romanians had very strict laws against making any more vampires. He tried a variety of methods but was never able to keep himself from polluting their blood. Towards the end of his experiments he thought he had found the solution.'

"He decided try the smallest of holes, just a scrape on the surface of the skin, and limit himself to a very small amount. Though he ended up taking too much from the first few, they only lived a few hours because they had lost so much blood, he did find success. A man walked away from him, fed off of but still alive. The vampire watched him for several days, waiting for the transformation process to begin but it never did… at least, not in a way he had ever seen before."

Edward stopped again. He saw the goose bumps that had formed on her arm and, unsure if they were a result of his cold skin or the story he was telling, he moved to let her hand go. She wouldn't release it, though, and instead covered the exposed top of his hand with her other one. She was staring intently into his eyes. He tried to block out the thoughts of his parents who, while watching the two of them sit there hand in hand, were not thinking about ancient vampire memoirs.

"What happened to him?"

Edward continued, unable to look away from those beautiful brown eyes that felt like they were burning holes into his soul.

"At first he seemed fine. Outside of some pain at the site of the bite, pain the vampire overheard him describe as burning, there seemed to be nothing wrong. After a few days he stopped following the man, pleased that he had found a way to appease both his conscience and his thirst. He went on feeding in that same manner when his thirst needed quenched. Months passed.'

" Then one day he was called to be part of a party organized to deal with a newly discovered problem. It was a man, a human, who was screaming like a mad man in the streets. It was not an uncommon occurrence at the time and typically would not have excited their interest but what caught the attention of the vampires was that he was standing in the streets in the middle of the afternoon… and he was sparkling."

She took a sharp breath in. He could hear his father analyzing her reaction and deciding that she was not in shock or on the verge of fainting again. She was simply startled. That made Edward feel a little better but his own worries about her were being intensified by Esme's, who was fighting back another urge to hug the girl and assure her she'll be alright.

The problem was, they really couldn't guarantee the truth of that. He took her silence as an opportunity to continue.

"Obviously, the vampire recognized the man as his first non-victim. As soon as it was safe, the party captured him and brought him in, still screaming, for questioning. He was completely mad, talking about how he could hear whispers from the quiet houses and see clearly at night as if it were day. I assume going through that change, even subtly, without any idea of what you're becoming, would be maddening."

Her eyes were full of compassion, which made Edward burn inside. She was so thoroughly good natured that it almost literally hurt him to think about it in contrast to his own nature.

"What happened to him?" She asked again, though this time her expression communicated that she had already guessed what was coming.

"They destroyed him, as well as the others who began popping up, the others this vampire had tried to feed off of and leave alive. Eventually he stopped waiting for them to come out in the sun. He tracked down, destroyed the rest himself and gave up the effort."

Carlisle leaned in, indicating to Edward that he wanted to step in. Edward already knew what he intended to say and was thankful that his father decided to relate what Edward saw as the most difficult part of the whole story. He grasped the hand of the first girl he had ever loved even tighter for what he feared would be the last time as his father broke the bad news.

"Bella, I want you to understand that the narrative we found is incomplete, scientifically. We have no details on the extent of the change, whether it was ongoing or had frozen at a certain point, or what would have happened if they had been allowed to live. We don't know if you had more or less venom in your system than this man did or if that even matters. This story is helpful in that it tells us the situation is not unprecedented but really offers little more."

Bella was numb, or at least numb was the closest thing she could come up with to describe what she was feeling… or, wasn't feeling, as it seemed to be. She was thinking more about her non-reaction and what it ought to be rather than what was being said to her. She had just learned that she was maybe-possibly-probably slowly becoming like a vampire and she felt… nothing. Her chest was not tight, her breathing was now under control and mind was perfectly calm.

She took a big breath in and more of that peaceful feeling surrounded her. The air was sweeter there than it was at home and it didn't take her long to realize why. It wasn't their home, it was _him._ She was smelling him, his own distinct bouquet, and it was peaceful. She had smelled him before but never really appreciated how intoxicating it was. She breathed him in again.

"Are you alright?" He was concerned and it didn't surprise her. She just wished she knew the answer to that question. She could hear the doctor and his wife getting up to leave the room, presumably to give them some privacy, but she didn't look away from the boy with the amber eyes.

"I don't know."

He tried to hold her gaze but some kind of emotion, Bella couldn't tell what, swelled up inside of him and he had to drop it.

"I need you to know that we intend to stay here as long as it takes to figure out what is going on and to help you through this. We would never abandon you to go through this alone."

She nodded her head, unable to speak because she was worried about what might come out of his mouth next. She got the feeling he was dancing around something he didn't want to say.

"Of course, that's only if… you know, only if you want our help. We would understand if you want nothing to do with us. In that case, we'll go away and leave you here in peace."

"What?" She was floored. How could he, how could any of them ever think that she would wish them away.

"I'm just trying to say that I understand if you don't want anything to do with me after this, after learning what I did and that, if it's easier for you, I'll leave."

"Edward I don't know how I feel yet about all of this. It's a lot for me to sort out at once and I'm not sure it's really hit me yet. But…" She reached one hand up and placed it on his cheek as he looked at her again, a glimmer of something that vaguely resembled hope in his eyes. "But I am positive that I don't hate you, or anyone in this house, for what happened and I cannot imagine the thought of living through this without you here to help me."

Relief exploded across his face and he moved towards her, grabbing her face in the same way she held his.

Bella took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she felt his lips crashing into hers. They didn't move at first, each savoring that first innocent taste of the other. It was sweeter and more exhilarating than anything she had ever experienced before. Then a surge of something she would later describe as pure passion overtook her frail form and she started to move her lips against his.

She shifted her hand to the back of his head and ran her fingers through his hair. She could feel electricity surging through her body as he placed a hand on the small of her back to pull her closer. His lips were receptive to her attack but still tentative. They mimicked her movements.

When she broke for air he stopped her from resuming, both of them now breathing a little heavier than before. He looked tortured again and she was confused. In her mind, that had been the farthest thing from torture. She could feel the self doubt and rejection rising within her, worried he was disgusted by what he had just allowed to happen.

But then he smiled, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. His scent was washing over her in waves as she buried her face into his chest. He kissed the top of her head before he rested his chin on it. They sat there together, holding each other, perfectly content in the moment.

Bella knew she would soon have to start dealing with the fact she was probably becoming a vampire. There were a lot of things in her life that were about to change, quickly and permanently. There were a lot of questions left to ask and she wasn't sure she wanted to hear some of the answers. But that was all still yet to come because for a few blissful minutes, she was perfectly happy to just be there, with him, in his arms.

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_As always, please leave your thoughts on your way out…_


	14. First Strike

**Author's Note:** So I originally posted this chapter two weeks ago but I had to take it down for two reasons. First, it was confusing and, after re-reading it I understood why. Second, when I sat down to outline the last few chapters I realized that I needed to change some of the circumstances in this one.

So if you already read this chapter, you probably want to read it again because some stuff has changed. Time moves forward and back in this chapter again, but then I think that after this everything will be pretty straight forward.

Sorry about this and thanks for being patient with me. This is, after all, a work in progress.

Also, since it's been so long, here is a quick update for you!

_Previously on: Tainted_

After confirming her suspicions that Edward and his family are vampires when she visits them in their house on Sunday afternoon, Bella learns that she herself may be slowly becoming a vampire because Edward accidently bit her one night in her room. Most of the venom was removed from her system, but she has been slowing and subtly taking on vampire characteristics.

Billy and Sam are concerned about why Bella is spending so much time with the Cullens. Now that Paul has become the third werewolf and completed the pack, they devise a plan to keep a closer eye on her movements from now on.

Jacob, who still knows nothing about the existence of vampires or werewolves, hears that Sam wants to follow Bella around and calls Bella on Sunday evening to warn her. When he shows up at her house that night, he is greeted, not by Bella but by a mysterious and gorgeous red headed woman.

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_First Strike_

She knew it was wrong, what she had just seen, that she should be outraged, that she should feel something, but she just didn't care. It wasn't intentionally done. Carlisle would see that immediately and even he would have a hard time blaming her, but she didn't feel bad about it and she knew that was the part that her father would condemn her for. Oh well, she thought, she kept them from harming the other one. Surely that would count for something.

She hated to disappoint Carlisle, but what was more important at the moment, Rosalie thought as she ran through the woods back to her house and her family, their guests close behind her, was focusing on what would likely happen next. This was not going to just go away.

It's not that she didn't think they could take them if they came looking for vengeance. Her family outnumbered them, they didn't stand a chance. Emmett and Jasper would probably finish them off so quickly it wouldn't even be fun. Of course, that was only if Carlisle let them fight at all and Rosalie knew that wasn't likely. Yet, she couldn't see any other alternative. Neither side would leave without a fight.

Her stone cold heart broke for him. She didn't feel bad about it, but she was sorry that Carlisle would be forced into this battle she had allowed to start.

The other two followed her silently. She slowed down as she approached the house and could hear by the sounds of their movement inside that everyone was gathered in the living room as planned. She wondered if Alice had told them what happened before she left or if it would be up to Rosalie to break the news.

She turned around to the two vampires that had been following her home. The leader, Laurent, was tall with red eyes and black hair and spoke his English with a Mediterranean accent. He must have come over from Europe recently, she thought. He nodded at her, signaling that he understood they were visitors in her home and all of the decorum that accompanied the invitation to enter.

The other one had not spoken since the incident, she didn't even know his name yet, but Rosalie felt uneasy about the way he was looking at her. She got the feeling he was waiting to attack something. Again.

She opened the door to greet her family. Carlisle, Esme and Emmett were facing her with their much practiced easy smiles, ready to greet their visitors. Carlisle believed that creating a casual atmosphere when visitors showed up helped to keep them from getting too curious or suspicious. They were very good at acting casual in tense situations, but not this good. It answered her earlier question.

Alice had not told them, they did not know.

Their smiles started to fade as they began to realize that some part of their plan had gone terribly wrong. Esme's hand began to squeeze tighter around her husband's arm. Carlisle eyed their visitors cautiously before his eyes rested on his daughter.

"Is everything alright, Rosalie?"

"They've killed someone. It was one of the Quileute."

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He knew the other two could hear him thinking, a fact of pack life that they were all still getting used to, but Paul didn't let it bother him as he followed behind in formation. The other two had struggled with accepting this life that had been forced upon them by their ancestors but he did not. He could hear them thinking about it now as they compared their experience to his. They had been scared, confused, angry. Paul experienced none of those things. This was the coolest thing that could ever have happened to him and he didn't care who knew it.

He took the responsibility seriously and understood the great honor it was to serve his people in this way, but there was no question he enjoyed it in a way that the other two did not. Shifting into his wolf form acted as a release for Paul, a way to expel emotions that built up inside of him when living in his skin. In his fur, acting as an animal, everything was physical, primal, instinct. He had a different relationship to this body than he did to the one he was born into and he was amazed that something so seemingly unnatural could feel this innate.

Every moment of the last 12 hours had been fascinating. He was chased by Jared and Sam through the county, scaring a few motorists along the way. He hunted as a wild beast. He phased back into his skin for the first time to go meet with Billy Black about the Swan girl.

This evening was the most interesting yet. Even the other two, though worried at what this might mean for the tribe, were somewhat excited.

_There's a difference between being excited and being alert_, Sam thought at him in an attempt to bring his focus to the task at hand.

They crossed a new scent trail tonight and it was definitely not human.

They had come across it several miles outside of La Push and were following it along the stream that ran through the woods that connected the reservation with the tiny town of Forks. The smell was putrid, which meant it had to be a bloodsucker. But it wasn't the doctor or his family.

They were making their way along the southern border of town, thankfully still neutral territory. The bloodsucker had stayed in the forest but was dangerously close to the people who lived in town. Sam was the first to realize where the trail was leading and he quickened their pace. Jared and Paul followed swiftly behind, noses off the ground as they broke into a full-out run. Paul wondered how they had not guessed it sooner. Where else would a bloodsucker new to town be tempted to visit? Chief Swan's house reeked of Cullen.

As they approached the house Sam halted. All three picked up the other scent at the same time. Jared instantly recognized it as the blonde female and Sam ordered Paul to commit her aroma to his memory. They moved slowly now, trying to make as little noise as possible. It was lucky that they were coming in from the southwest now, downwind. Hopefully they could get close enough to see what was going on without alerting anyone to their presence.

When they reached the threshold of the forest, all three stopped dead in their tracks. The one they had been following was there on the porch, a red-headed female, and the blonde Cullen was in the yard staring at her but they were not alone.

Jacob Black was standing in between them.

Sam was outraged, his mind trying to come up with a hundred different ways to get Billy's son out of there but he didn't have time to form a cohesive plan. They had barely taken in the situation before they saw two sets of eyes turn towards where they were concealed to Jacob's in the tree line. The two females had been speaking but stopped when they noticed the wolves.

Sam knew they had to get Jacob out of there as quickly as possible. As soon as he decided on their course of action, Jared and Paul became like extensions of his own body, they did exactly what he commanded them to.

As a pack, they moved forward, out of the darkness of the trees and into the moonlight. The treaty was with the doctor and his family, so the blonde was off limits but the red head was not. As they approached this was the only plan of attack they had. Attack the red head. If the blonde had a problem with it, they would deal with her next.

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They were all in the living room now, even Emmet and Rose had joined them. Bella had asked that everyone come out of 'hiding' so she could get to know them better. Edward was still in disbelief that, after everything, she hadn't gone into shock. She certainly didn't seem as comfortable now, after his confession, as she had at first but she was still making an effort to at least seem as okay with everything as possible. For what felt like the hundredth time that day, he told himself that this was a remarkable, rare creature.

She was asking Carlisle the details of his story. Even thought the rest of them had heard it a hundred times, they all sat and listened earnestly about how their patriarch came to this life and his existence before he decided to create a family of companions. He was in the middle of talking about his time in Italy when her cell phone rang.

At first it looked like she was going to ignore the call but something about the number made her stop. She looked up.

"I should probably take this."

"Of course," Edward said as he gestured her towards the kitchen. It was really impossible to have a private phone call in a house full of vampires, something she now realized, but he thought she would appreciate talking to whoever it was without his entire family staring at her.

She smiled apologetically and moved in the direction of the kitchen.

"Hello?"

"Bella, it's Jacob."

She stopped and turned back towards Edward, who had frozen. Whatever the boy's reason for calling, he thought, they could not be good.

"Um, hey, what's up?"

"Sorry to do this but I have to talk to you."

She paused again before proceeding with caution. She was trying to keep her tone friendly but anyone who was really listening would never buy it. Her acting skills needed some polishing.

"I'm all ears, Jacob, what's going on?"

"It's Sam. He came over here tonight to talk to my dad, to seek his council, and…"

"And what, Jacob?"

"…and they were talking about you."

"What?" The word had left both her and Edward's mouth at the same time. She turned away from his gaze when she said it, her attention now completely belonging to her caller.

"They were talking about you and your, uh, friends and trying to figure out a way to get you to stop hanging out with them."

Edward laughed darkly to himself. If only those fools knew how intertwined her life was with his family. Emmett laughed heartily out loud. She responded with a scoff before the boy on the phone rushed to try and explain the situation further.

"Listen, I need to get off the phone in case my dad comes home but there's more I need to tell you. Can I meet you at your house?"

She turned back around, her eyes asking for assistance with how to answer his question. Edward wanted to know what else was going on, especially if it sounded like the Quileute were making an organized, mobilized effort to interfere with her. Bella's condition seemed to change from day to day, this was not a good time for any added observations. They needed to do what they could to keep them from poking around.

He nodded to her and she quickly agreed to meet him there in a half an hour. That would be plenty of time for him to get her and the truck back to her father's house and would give him time to hide somewhere in the house.

As she hung up the phone and began to make her way back into the living room, Edward's attention was suddenly pulled to Alice. She was having a vision.

_A vampire. Female, with red hair, running through the forest. She comes across a scent that she recognizes as one of her kind but it is not someone she knows. She is curious and decides to follow it, knowing the other two will have no trouble finding her. She emerges from the woods right in front of Bella's house._

When Alice came out of the vision, everyone was looking at her. Edward was now standing next to Bella with his arm around her he stiffened when he recognized Bella's house in the vision and she had noticed. Concern crept slowly over her face.

Carlisle asked the question on everyone's mind.

"What did you see?"

"Visitors," she replied. "One for sure and it looked like two of her friends were supposed to be following her. She was following faint traces of our scents towards the house but then she came across a fresher one. It was Rose's from when she came back from Bella's this morning and, rather than follow it here she followed it the other way."

Everyone in the room could hear Bella's heart start racing.

"Of course, once she decided to approach the house, everything disappears because Bella would be inside."

"How long?" Jasper asked.

"Twenty minutes."

Bella snapped her heat towards Edward. "Charlie?"

He was able to answer her quickly. Alice had already looked to make sure Chief Swan would still be at work.

"He's still at work and has no intention of leaving any time soon."

"Do they seem hostile?" Jasper asked.

Alice thought for a moment before answering. "No, they're just curious. As long as we don't provoke them, they probably won't stay long or cause any trouble."

Bella seemed reassured for a moment then reached for her phone again. Edward reached out a hand to stop her. He was forming a plan. As much as he wanted to get her as far away from Forks as possible in the next twenty minutes, he knew that running away would only cause suspicion and the last think he wanted to do was draw attention to her right now. Raising suspicion might entice their visitors to stay longer.

"I need to warn Jacob."

"We need to talk this through first."

She looked like she wanted to protest but she remained silent. They turned towards the rest of the room. Jasper had already gathered that Edward was working on something.

"What are you thinking we should do," he asked his brother.

Edward began explaining the strategy he had been piecing together.

"First, I think we should send Rose back to Bella's to meet the female. I don't think she'll trust any of the rest of us, since it was Rose's scent she followed in the first place. I also don't think she'll be friendly if any more of us are there. She won't want to feel outnumbered from the start. Rosalie can invite her back here."

Emmett did not like the idea of his wife going alone to meet this unknown vampire but Rosalie told them she was confident that it wouldn't be a problem. Edward knew that she always got her way and didn't spend any more time worrying about whether or not Rose would go along with the plan.

"While she's gone, Alice, Jasper and I will leave with Bella to go back to her house. If we time it right, we should get there just as Rosalie is getting back here. Bella can meet with Jacob as planned and Alice, Jasper and I will be there to make sure nothing happens to disturb them."

Edward could hear the minds of his family thinking over his idea. Everyone except Esme thought it sounded feasible. Esme never liked it when everyone split up, but eventually nodded her approval along with everyone else. Edward turned to Bella to see if she objected.

"Will Jacob be alright?"

Rose answered for her. "We'll be long gone before he even shows up."

She was hesitant, to be sure, but eventually Bella, too, nodded.

With everyone in agreement, the house became a flurry of activity. Rose prepared to go meet their visitor. Esme, Carlisle and Emmett began tidying up the already perfect house. Alice and Jasper went upstairs to grab a few things before departing with Edward and Bella who, themselves, were embracing as he tried to reassure her that everything was going to work out alright.

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Jacob Black was stuck between two of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. He was also more confused than he had ever been before. He had been about ready to answer the red head when the blonde showed up.

"Greetings, visitor." Stunning as she was, her voice and her stare were equally icy. The red head looked at her with caution.

"You're the one I followed here."

"I am."

"Why have you been visiting this house?"

The blond smiled.

"I would be happy to explain, if you would like to follow me back to the house I share with my family."

"Family?" She hadn't asked it so much as laughed it.

"Yes, we prefer that word to others." For the second time that day, Jacob was certain there was more going on in this conversation than he was capable of understanding. The tone of each woman's voice was friendly, but their eyes were cautious.

"Interesting. How many of you are there?"

"Seven usually, but three are out."

"Seven? You rarely hear of groups that large. How do you stand it?"

The blond smiled sweetly, yet Jacob still couldn't help but notice that her eyes were still hard and cold.

"As I said, I would be happy to explain everything if you would follow me back to my house. The humans who live here will be home soon and I would prefer to not be here when they return."

The red head was about to respond but then stopped. Both women then turned their heads slowly towards the woods that bordered the side of the Swan house. Jacob looked to the woods too and for a moment couldn't see anything. What he saw next made him gasp.

Three giant wolves slowly emerged from the darkness of the forest. The one in the middle walked slightly ahead of the two which flanked its sides. Their movements seemed strangely cohesive for wild animals, choreographed almost.

Jacob and both women were frozen as they approached. No one moved at all. Jacob remained frozen out of habit, it was what his father taught him to do if approached by a wild animal in the woods. When they were about twenty feet away they stopped their advance.

Without moving, Jacob whispered to the both women, "stay still, ladies, and they shouldn't hurt you. They're probably just curious."

Both laughed in response, breaking the tension that had settled around them. At nearly the same moment, all three wolves lunged forward.

It all happened so fast that afterwards Jacob hardly knew what had happened. Everything seemed a blur of white, red, grey and black. There were two noises, the one the wolves made as they attacked and the one the red haired woman made as they tore her to pieces. Jacob's heart was pounding as his breathing got heavy but he couldn't tear his eyes away.

A hand was placed on his shoulders, pulling him back. Unsure of how it had happened, he found himself standing in the driveway now, farther from the porch now.

The blonde was storming away from him, fire in her eyes. She seemed completely unphased by what was going on right in front of them. She started hissing at the animals and they stopped and began to back away.

Jacob's stomach turned. There was nothing but pieces left of the woman who, moments ago, had been standing next to him on the porch. He couldn't tear his eyes away from what was left of her. He had never seen an animal attack and, though he knew they were dangerous, he never imagined it could be this bad.

The blonde seemed to be staring down one of the wolves, the one who had acted as the leader when they emerged from the woods. The surrealness of it all made Jacob wonder if he were really dreaming and what kind of therapy he would need when he woke up. He had been thinking about the old legends a little too much lately, he told himself. The dream theory was cemented a few second later.

The leader wolf started violently shaking and growled. One second he was waiting for it to attack the woman and the next he was looking at a very angry, very naked Sam Uley.

"Do you have a problem with our disposing of your friend?" It was less of question and more of a challenge.

"Not at all." Her response was very matter-of-fact.

He looked at her for a moment, as if trying to decide if she were telling the truth. She rested all her weight on one leg and crossed her arms.

"What are you going to do with the pieces?"

Still naked, he snarled at her. He reached down to a pouch tied around his ankle that Jacob hadn't noticed before and pulled out a match.

"Idiots!" She was hissing again. "Do you want to alert the entire neighborhood to what you're doing? You're lucky no one came running when she screamed."

"Excuse me?" He was standing right in front of her. Of course, he towered over her petite frame but she looked just as menacing as he did.

"Take. Her. Somewhere. Else."

He paused as he considered what she said. Then he took a step back and suddenly became a wolf again. All three of the wolves looked at each other, silent and unmoving, until one with dark grey fur started shaking as violently as the leader/Sam one had before. This one became a naked Paul.

Jacob thought he was definitely dreaming.

The blonde still looked furious as she stared down Paul the same way she had stared down Sam.

"How many more of you am I going to have to see naked tonight? I'm not sure if my stomach can take any more."

Paul started shaking again but then the leader/Sam wolf growled at him and he stopped. He reached down to the pouch tied around his ankle and pulled out a pair of shorts that he pulled up quickly.

"Better?" His voice was thick with sarcasm.

"Much. Are they getting her out of here?"

She hadn't even finished her question before the two wolves took off, their mouths full of pieces of the red-headed woman who, just minutes ago, was standing next to Jacob.

"They'll take it back to the reservation and burn it there. I'm taking Jacob home and you're getting and staying away from Bella and Chief Swan as soon as possible." He paused when she didn't respond. "Can you remember that or do I need to write it down?"

"You'd better get this boy out of here before something bad happens to you both."

"Like you could hurt me."

"Believe me, mutt, I could, but I think someone else is coming that would enjoy it more." Her lips began to curl up into the slightest of smiles. "She wasn't travelling alone."

Jacob stood there, still frozen in awe of what he had just seen, staring at Paul who was standing right beside him who, himself, was staring at the blonde. She moved to turn away when something distracted her. Her eyes never changed, they remained hard and cold as a pale white blur came rushing past her.

His body being thrown into the side of his car was the last thing Jacob Black remembered.

____________________________________

**Author's Note: ** So, if you didn't catch it, the difference between this draft and the last one was that in the first version Edward, Bella, Alice and Jasper were home when Rose returned with Laurent and James. For reasons that will become obvious when you read the next chapter, that needed to change.

If you think this was more effective than the last version or if it was still just too confusing, please let me know!


	15. Casualties

_Casualties_

Sam Uley felt a surge of gratifying pride as he tossed the first piece on the red headed bloodsucker into the fire he and Jared had built on the beach. As far as he knew, none of the last two packs had ever killed a vampire. The last one thought they were going to, but because of the treaty negotiated by Ephraim Black, that never actually happened.

As members of the pack that was charged with protecting the tribe from these and other vile creatures, he, Jared and Paul were fulfilling a sacred and ancient duty. For Sam, a part of that duty felt accomplished tonight. They had saved Jacob Black from a hostile combatant and there was one less vampire in the world.

Piece by piece they burned her. He and Jared had wasted no time getting here and building the fire. It was a task best completed sooner, rather than later. If only the pieces would burn rapidly enough, he thought, they could probably beat Jacob and Paul back home.

Jared tried to keep his thoughts as unobtrusive as possible as Sam stared at the multi-colored flames and tried to think of how they were going to explain everything to Jacob. Technically, nobody outside the council and the three of them were supposed to know about the pack. After what Jacob had just seen, however, there was no way to hide or deny it. Jacob had been acting pretty hostile to him lately, but he hoped that would change when Jacob fully understood the situation.

_It actually might be nice_, Jared added silently, _to have someone else our age who knows, someone to talk to about it all, you know?_

Sam agreed, but was more concerned with the immediate task of getting Jacob to believe and understand what they would have to tell him. Sam had a hard enough time coming to terms with it all. He had helped Jared and Paul, but Jared and Paul experienced the change for themselves which made it a reality easier to accept. Jacob would not have that luxury.

Both of them stood there, full of that sense of gratification that comes with fulfilling the purpose you were created for, watching the last of her burn. With his mouth, Sam picked up the small, plastic container they were supposed to use to keep some of the ashes with the tribal leaders and scooped it full of the dust at the bottom of the fire ring. He used his nose to snap the connected lid shut, impressing Jared with his dexterity.

_Show off. You could have phased back to do that._

_Or, _he thought,_ I could be a good leader and be an example of how to not cop out._

Jared was amused, but knew that the real reason Sam didn't want to phase back was because he wanted to be able to communicate with Paul as soon as there was information to share. They had expected it would take Paul and Jacob awhile to get back to La Push, but Sam had expected to hear something by now.

As he and Jared began to make their way back towards La Push a familiar feeling rushed over both of them. It was the surge they each felt right before another member entered the pack consciousness. But what greeted them next was something they were not expecting.

It was an overwhelming feeling of rage and a sickening realization that something terrible had happened.

____________________________________

For the first time that day, Bella was scared. Edward and his family kept telling her there was nothing to worry about, that visitors had a habit of stopping by from time to time, curious about their attempts at living a normal, human life, but nothing they said put her at ease. In Alice's vision, these foreign vampires were visiting her house. Charlie could show up there at any time and Jacob was already on his way.

"Everything will be fine, Bella," he said to her again as they walked out of the house towards her truck. They were taking it back so that it would be there later this evening when Charlie came home. Alice and Jasper were going to run through the woods on either side of the road. It was easier to catch the scent of visitors that way. Alice had not been able to nail down the timing of the arrival for the other two, the ones the female was travelling with, so she and Jasper were on the lookout for any signs of them.

Edward opened the passenger door and waited for Bella to climb in. She turned to look at him again, refusing to get in while attempting to make one last plea for reconsideration.

"It's not that I don't trust you, I just don't see why it would hurt to cancel on Jacob. Wouldn't it be better to have as few people near that house as possible?"

"Bella we've been over this. Rose will lead her away before he ever gets there. Even if he does show up at the same time it won't be a problem. Like Alice said, they're just curious and will probably move on soon. It's really important that we hear what Jacob has to say. If the Quileute had any idea…" he trailed off, unwilling to finish the thought. "So like I said, everything will be fine. Please get in the truck or we're going to be late."

She sighed, still refusing to move. "If someone gets hurt over this because of me…"

His golden eyes burned into her, full of concern and something else she could not describe. The sides of his mouth started curling slightly upward as leaned in towards her.

"Do you honestly think I would let that happen?"

As was becoming his habit, he raised his hand and let one cool finger trail down the side of her face before leaning in to kiss her forehead. Her knees started to give out as the sweetness of his breath crept into her nostrils, overcoming her senses. Her breathing grew heavy while his lips moved down her jaw, retracing the line he had just drawn there with his finger, until they finally found hers and started dancing in a fury of movement.

He instantly pushed her backwards into the truck, a gasp escaping her lips as his hands moved down her sides to grab her waist before effortlessly lifting her into the passenger seat and climbing in himself. In one swift motion he lifted her hips so that her knees were resting on the bench seat and her legs now straddled him. Never breaking their kiss he shut the door behind them.

Completely overcome, Bella could feel his hands, still attached to her waist, start to move down her hips and slightly pull at her jeans. A wave of electricity surged through her body. She responded by knotting her fingers into his bronze hair and pushing her lips deeper into his before pulling back to finally break for air.

When she their lips released he moved their positions again, flipping her so that now it was her back that was against the seat of the truck.

He stared at her for several seconds and she was completely lost in the beauty of his eyes and the perfection of his face. But her body was aching for him again so she moved her hands down from his face to the unbuttoned, crisp, white collar of his shirt that was sticking out of the sweater he was wearing over it and began to pull him back into her.

When he moved back in towards her his lips, rather than regaining their place on hers, he planted a swift kiss on her forehead before he rolled off her and settled himself in the driver's seat. Bella was left sitting there untouched, open mouthed and empty handed. The contrast was striking.

As Edward inserted the key he stole out her pocket in the ignition and put the truck in drive he smiled, obviously pleased with himself.

Bella was in shock and still breathing heavily as she realized what just happened. She just stared… first at him, then forward, jaw dropped.

Cocky, she thought, that was the look she couldn't put her finger on before he leaned in for his most unjust attack.

She shook her head in awe.

"I can't believe I fell for that," she said as she sat there next to him on the bench seat in her old truck, crossing her arms and refusing to look at him. When they pulled out of the driveway and onto the road, he tried to put his arm around her but she pushed it off, playfully but with purpose, trying desperately not to smile at his antics.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear, his voice rich like velvet.

"Don't be offended, I can be very convincing."

Her heart was racing but she was determined to protest his attempts to distract her into compliance. Still, she couldn't keep a slight smile from her lips.

"You don't play fair."

"Is it my fault you're so easily distracted?"

"Yes." She was pouting again and she knew it. "I never had issues with concentration before you came along."

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, love."

"No you're not." She was still facing forward with her arms crossed.

"You're right." Out of the corner of her eye she could see him turn to her. She felt him lean in to whisper in her ear again, a move that he had to know was sure to drive her wild. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck bristle as his nose brushed her earlobe.

"Given the opportunity, I would do it again," he kissed her cheek, "and again," he kissed her jaw "and again" he said as he kissed the top of her neck.

As much as she wanted to remain upset with him, Bella had learned over the last week that there were limits to her ability to resist his charm. Preparing to surrender, she was proud that she had been able to regain her senses quickly enough to be mad at him this long after what he had done to her. Then again, if there were ever a preferred method of distracting deception, his technique would be it. Her heart was still pounding so hard in her chest she thought it was going to come out.

Arms still crossed and eyes still forward, she gave in and leaned in to him, letting his arm drape over her shoulder as he pulled her closer. He kissed the top of her head as she laid it on his shoulder.

"You really don't play fair."

They sat in silence the rest of the drive to her house, each caught up in their own reflections on what was becoming a very long, very interesting day. Bella's breathing finally began to slow and she realized that Edward's sham assault had made her start to feel less worried about meeting with Jacob. Of course, she had been worried about his safety and Charlie's, that was the primary reason for her reluctant acceptance of Edward's plan. But that was not the only concern she had.

Now that she had been assured no one would be harmed, she began to think of what she was going to say to Jacob when she saw him. Surely he would start asking questions. When she had been talking to him the day before at the beach, Bella was sure that Jacob didn't believe a word of the stories he was telling her. He has done everything in his power to make sure she understood that he thought the superstitions were silly. But the concern in his voice on the phone tonight suggested that he might have had a change of heart.

She worried that he would start asking her questions that would require her to lie. Edward had explained to her that morning about how important secrecy was to their way of life and she understood why it was necessary. She figured this was why Edward had insisted on coming with her that night. He wanted to use his 'special hearing' to find out if the Quileute were breaking the treaty and warning people about the vampires. That is information his family would need to have.

Bella didn't like the thought of being thrown in to the middle of this argument between Edward's interests and Jacob's. The Black's were practically family and she had really connected with Jacob the day before. If he was there to warn her, she understood why. Vampires were not technically the most healthy friends for a teenage girl. However, she wondered if, by believing the vampire parts of his tribal legends, that meant he also believed the parts about the wolves. Surely, she thought, it would be hypocritical of him to warn her against hanging out with vampires when his people had once transformed into giant werewolves.

She drew in a sharp breath.

"Wolves."

Edward snapped his head towards hers. "What?"

Realization was washing over her in waves. She had been so focused on thinking about vampires this morning that the coincidence had never occurred to her. "I forgot to tell you. I didn't even make the connection until just now."

"Bella, what are you talking about?" Concern soaked every word.

"This morning, before I drove to your house, I was on the highway somewhere outside of La Push. I had stopped and pulled my truck over to the side of the road when this giant wolf jumped onto the hood. Another came running and knocked if off the hood and chased it into the woods and then a third followed them. It was so weird because I swore the one looked at me like it _knew_ who I was."

He was silent for a moment before replying.

"So the pack has returned." She saw his hands tighten their grip on the steering wheel. His eyes never left the road but she could see that they were hard and focused. The energy coming off him now was dangerous. "This certainly complicates things."

She had hoped that he would elaborate but he remained silent, obviously processing the information she had just given him. They were nearly to her house. As her old, red truck turned onto her street she caught her first glance of the house. An old car she had never seen before was sitting in the driveway. It must be Jacob, she thought. He was early.

Suddenly the truck stopped as Edward slammed his foot on the breaks. Alice and Jasper appeared beside the truck next to the driver's side window. Bella gathered one thing from the look that passed between Jasper and Edward: something had gone terribly wrong. Bella's breathing started to grow heavy yet again.

"What happened, Edward?"

He put the truck in park, turned towards her and grabbed her hand.

"Jasper and I are going to look around to try and figure out what's going on. Alice is going to stay here with you." The worry in his eyes intensified that which she was feeling. "Please don't move until I come back."

She nodded as he left her there alone in the truck. He and Jasper moved towards the house. They walked around Jacob's car in the direction of the porch where they both stopped and stared at the ground for a few seconds before snapping their heads up to look at each other for what felt like an eternity. Then they both instantly took off running onto the woods that bordered her house.

Bella felt a knot in her stomach. This could not be good, she thought.

To her right, she saw Alice had moved over to her side of the truck, her face also full of worry. Bella could see that she was trying to concentrate on something, probably trying to figure out why she hadn't seen this. She leaned over and rolled down the window on the passenger side and Alice turned to look at her.

"What's going on?" She tried to keep her voice gentle. Her friend was obviously upset.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. This has never happened to me before. It's always been so clear to see but there are huge parts that are missing. I saw them coming but then they just disappeared. I can't even see Rose right now… or anyone else for that matter. All three were here. Their scent is all over the place but it's not theirs alone. Everything is mixed with a putrid smell I haven't come across before today."

"Do you think someone's figured out how to get around your vision?"

"I have no idea."

Alice shook her head and stared at the ground. Bella felt a surge of sympathy for her. It must be frustrating, she thought, to lose a sense that you rely so often like she did her vision. Bella reached out, opened the passenger door and got out of the truck. She placed one hand on the little pixie's back and started to pat it reassuringly. Alice seemed to appreciate her attempt to comfort because she turned her head back to Bella and attempted a half smile in thanks.

They stood there next to each other in quiet waiting for the boys to return. The sun was getting ready to go down and it was cold. A gust of bitter wind hit Bella's face sending shivers down her spine. Next to her, Alice stiffened and inhaled quickly.

"Oh my…" she said before she started to move back towards the house, walking first, then running.

Bella followed her as she turned up the driveway until she stopped, staring at something on the far side of the little, foreign car sitting in the driveway. It was the same place that Edward and Jasper had stopped before they took off running into the woods. As soon as Bella herself turned up the driveway she saw what Alice was looking at.

Curled up, in a heap on the pavement, were two tan-skinned boys. One of them looked dead and the other one was Jacob Black.

Alice moved toward the dead looking one as Bella fell to the ground in front of Jacob. His skin was still warm and she could see him breathing, but his eyes were closed and his body was limp. She placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to shake him. He didn't move. She took both of her hands and grabbed his face, gently patting it to try and get him to wake up.

"Jacob, wake up…" she was desperately asking.

He started to stir.

His eyes fluttered open and he looked startled when he saw her.

He cried out in pain. His voice was raspy and he was trying to sit up.

"Shhh," she replied as she put a hand on his chest to try and keep him from getting up. "I think you might be hurt, you shouldn't move."

He seemed to agree and laid back down, groaning as his back touched the hard pavement. She left one hand on his face and moved the other to his forehead. It was so warm she was sure he must have a fever.

Bella looked up at Alice to see how the other boy was. Alice wasn't touching him and he wasn't moving at all. She was just staring at his still figure shaking her head back and forth.

"Is he…" Bella couldn't finish the sentence.

She saw Alice move her head up and down once, very slightly.

"Bella listen to me," Alice's back was to her and she was whispering very softly. Bella realized was taking advantage of her newly sharpened hearing skills to make sure that Jacob wouldn't hear. "When your friend sees this he's likely to go into shock and pass out again. But we need to see if we can figure out what he saw before that happens."

The initial fright Bella felt when Edward stopped the truck cold was completely gone, replaced by the same numbness she had experienced at the house earlier that day. She nodded her head in agreement.

Bella moved to reposition her body so that it was blocking his sight in the direction of the other boy. His face was still in her hands, warming them against the bitter cold air. Bewilderment was the best word she could think of to describe the look on his face.

"Jacob, what happened?"

He focused on her eyes, finally recognizing who she was.

"Bella?"

"Yeah, you're at my house and you've been hurt. Do you remember what happened?"

His eyes closed as he began shaking his head furiously, obviously recalling something he wished he hadn't. Bella's heart was breaking for him as she started to get upset with herself for allowing Edward to talk her into this. This is exactly why she had wanted to call and cancel on Jacob. The numbness kept her from feeling the full effect of having an injured Jacob and his dead friend laying in her driveway.

"You'll never believe it."

"Jacob, it's okay. You can tell me."

His eyes opened and he looked at her again.

"Would you believe me if I said I think those stories I told you yesterday might have been true."

She looked earnestly back at him and brushed a piece of his long, black hair out of his face.

She nodded. "I would."

He looked back at her as if trying to determine if she was telling the truth. Eventually he seemed to understand that she really did believe him and began to explain what happened. His eyes never left her face, so she couldn't turn to see where Alice was and if Edward and Jasper were on their way back yet, but eventually she heard them approach. She tried to keep Jacob's attention on her until he finished his retelling, afraid that he wouldn't finish if he saw the Cullen's standing around behind her.

Bella was horrified as he described his encounter with the red-headed female and Rosalie. Though he only referred to her as the blonde, Bella was positive that was who he was talking about. When he described the arrival of the wolves, her heart stopped for a moment, positive these were the same three she had seen this morning. Without turning around, she could hear Alice gasp when he described what they did to the red head.

He started to shake when he recounted the conversation between Sam, Paul and Rosalie. Then he stopped. His eyes left hers and focused on nothing.

"Then there was this white blur and I got slammed into the side of the car. That's the last thing I remember."

Behind her, she could hear someone slowly approach her. Her gut told her it was Edward. A cold hand was placed on her shoulder.

"That's enough," he said quietly.

Jacob could now hear and see him, realizing for the first time that he and Bella were not alone. Forgetting the pain he was in, the boy shot up so that he was staring at all four of them. He got up onto his feet and started backing away from them, grabbing Bella by the wrist as if to drag her off with him. Bella had expected him to be scared when he saw Edward, Alice and Jasper now that he claimed to believe the stories about them and she wasn't surprised he would be trying to pull her away from them. But there was something else in his eyes that seemed deeper than a fear of vampires.

Edward, of course, would not allow her to be dragged away. Faster than she was able to see how, his hand darted to her wrist and replaced Jacob's hold to it before she was pulled backward into his arms. Jacob looked stunned at her, gone from his grasp, for a few second before his eyes turned towards the ground and quickly found the body that was lying there.

…

For the second time that day, Jacob Black felt like he had been slammed into the side of a car. Wave after wave of emotion came crashing down on him as he tried to force his mind to find the words to explain what he was looking at. After several failed attempts he finally formed the sentence.

Paul was dead.

Sorrow and confusion were instantly replaced by rage, the likes of which Jacob had never before experienced. His entire body started shaking with it. His breathing grew deep and heavy as he tried, unsuccessfully, to maintain control of his limbs. The shaking was coming from his core and nothing he tried could stop it. He watched Bella and her friends slowly start backing away from where he was standing next to his dead friend.

From somewhere deep within, a loud cry erupted from his throat. The sound of it echoed as it bounced off the empty house and the trees that surrounded it. He could feel an electric current forming in his torso that began to spread throughout his body, carried by his anger. The boy who had his arms around Bella moved her so that she was now behind her as he crouched into a protective stance. The other two leaned forward as well.

He felt a sudden and strong urge to try and grab Bella and run. He needed to protect her, to get her out of there but when he tried to move he found that he couldn't. The convulsions that had overtaken his body cemented him to the spot where he was standing.

Then, as he tried to move and lunge forward again, an explosion of energy inside of him propelled him forward. Arms forward, he went after the one blocking Bella.

"Let her go," was what he had intended to say. What came out was nothing more than an angry, animal growl.

____________________________________

**Author's Note:** We're getting closer to the end! I think there will only be two or three more chapters before this story is done and another is set up to begin :)

I know the turn these last few chapters have taken is a little different and I hope it's not terribly disappointing. Do we like it or not? Is focusing on this plot worthwhile or should I have left either the Quileute or James, Laurent and Victoria out completely? Is there anything you think needs to happen before it's over? Please let me know…


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